Forecast
by 0xnaomix0
Summary: AU Shizuru/Natsuki, Mai/Mikoto, & other couples--Natsuki calls a local radio station for the weather report she missed, and instead ends up winning a date with the famous forecaster Viola.
1. Of Anger, Embarrassment, and Contests

**Disclaimer: **I don't own.

**Warnings:** Bad grammer. Lameness. Shoujo ai. OOCness.

I am in need of a Beta (as you can probably tell) if anyone is interested...

* * *

Chapter One: _Of Anger, embarrassment, and contests_

The twenty-year-old woman stormed out of the two-story house, slamming the screen door on the way out.

Mai chuckled at her house-mate's antics, not only because of her childish reaction, but also because of her _attempt_ to slam the speed-adjusting door. It was quite hilarious actually; it seemed to happen every time Natsuki became a little upset. The younger girl would slam all the doors in her path from the second story down to the first, but the screen door would always be the one disagree with the angry woman.

The blunette turned and glared at the white metal door—and at the woman grinning behind it—as it slowly closed with a soft click. "Argh!" Natsuki growled as she turned and looked for something that would make a solid, loud noise.

'Ah!' emerald eyes glinted mischievously as violet ones widened in horror. The college student approached the object and started to reach out--

"No!" the chef called out, but from behind the stubborn door she knew she would never reach it in time.

Natsuki pulled on the object, "what?" She questioned before trying again. "Locked… but I don't remember…" emerald orbs widened in realization and glanced at the doorway: the busty woman was dangling a set of keys with a triumphant look on her face… that is until she saw the biker reach into her pocket and pull out her own set of keys.

Sending a smirk to the carrot-haired woman, Natsuki unlocked the door and got into it before slamming the door _hard_; her smirk widening as she saw the other woman wince at the loud noise. When she was about to put her key into the ignition she heard the familiar beeping of her phone, flipping it open she saw that she received a text message.

_"__Are you planning on riding shotgun while the ghost driver takes you somewhere?"_

"ARGH! DAMMIT!" Natsuki blushed as she got out the passenger seat of the Mazda 3, she could see her long-time friend shaking uncontrollably with laughter; she slammed the door on the black and red flamed hatchback and walked to the driver's side of the car. She got into the car and slammed the door loudly in mix of embarrassment and anger.

_'I honestly don't know why I even gave Natsuki my spare key… when she kept slamming those doors I thought I could_ feel_ the windows shattering. Well __its__ okay… we do have a "you break it, you upgrade it"__ agreement.__'_ Mai thought to herself as she closed the front door.

-xOx-

Natsuki turned on the radio and listened to the strangely familiar tune, she started to wonder how she remembered the song, but when a part she knew came on she hummed along.

_'Ah, karaoke __night__… I remember now._' It was strange, but in her mind she could see her black haired feline of a friend singing passionately to Alicia Keys' "No One."

_'She sang quite well that night, I didn't really know Mikoto had that kind of voice… still, I couldn't help but feel as though that girl was looking at Mai the whole time she sang.' _

/oXo\

Green eyes looked at the passenger seat of the car, there sat her blue MotoKRZR K1m cell phone—open with the screen an idle black—she reached for it and went to a blank text message screen. The blunette's fingers expertly typed a message while keeping her eyes glued to the road—only looking away once to see if the message she sent had gone through.

The quick beeping alerted Natsuki to a text message she had just received; the reply had come so fast it was almost as if the person she texted anticipated the message she sent. She flipped open her cell phone and read the text; a small smile graced her lips before she gave a chuckle and shook her head. She placed her still-open cell phone on the passenger seat, the light of the text message shining through the darkness of the car.

_"Okay, have a safe trip. And take care of my baby! __If either of you come home in bad shape someone… or something is gonna be in trouble:) –Mai" _

The girl laughed softly to herself, it was a funny little routine they had, no matter how mad she or Mai was one would always text the other to tell them that they were leaving and that they would be back later, and the other would text a reply about having a safe trip and to coming back safely. Though, sometimes, Natsuki would be a bit stubborn, then Mai would have to send a message to the other woman and wait for the reply she knew would come. _'And it always did.'_

/oXo\

A light tapping of rain could be heard hitting the car before the sprinkle began to get harder and began to pour down onto the windshield. Natsuki turned on her window wipers with a smirk, _'true to her word it started to rain.' _

Having heard that it was going to rain from a _very_ reliable source she had chosen to drive Mai's car—her being angry just seemed like an easier way to obtain the car than asking the other woman about it. Plus it was laundry day and most of her long-sleeved clothing was getting washed and she didn't really feel like having cold wind and water biting into her skin at high speeds.

_'Speaking of _that _woman__…' _viridian orbs took a glance at her phone before noticing the time, _'crap! Its 6:03 I'm gonna miss it!' _Natsuki hurriedly pressed the second preset radio station: 102.3 H.I.M.E.

"And that was the weather from our beautiful forecaster! Come back tomorrow same time, same station for the amazing Viola. I'm DJ T.K spinnin' up the 'Hit Mix at six!'"

_'Argh… I barely missed it! __Usually it ends at 6:05…__sigh… __Maybe if I call them they'll play the report again later.'_

"Twenty-third caller…" the man on the radio was ignored as Natsuki picked up her phone and dialed the station's number.

_Ring ring. Ring ring.__ Beep._"Yeah, I was just wondering--" she didn't get to continue the sentence because of the automated voice message that interrupted her.

"I'm sorry but the number you have dialed is busy, please try--" The annoying phone announcer lady was cut off as Natsuki hung up the phone and hit redial—she was determined to get through.

_Ring ring. Ring ring. Beep._ Sensing that that annoying woman wasn't about to say anything Natsuki began to speak, "Yeah, I was just wondering--" the same phrase was interrupted as a man seemed to yell out a question in her ear.

"Hello! What's your name?!" Natsuki really disliked that man on the radio, he sounded like he tried too hard to impress the women who listened to the station, but at least he was a good DJ and he played all the songs she liked.

"Natsuki… Kuga Natsuki. Now I was wondering--" the blunette was interrupted yet again and she getting really aggravated. All she was trying to do was ask a simple question!

"Guess what Natsuki-chan?!" she winced at the name and told the DJ not to call her it anymore. She would've said something not as kind as "no chan, and don't be so familiar with me," but hearing her echo on the radio made her change her mind.

"Kuga-san, guess what?" T.K obeyed and reworded the question, deciding it was best to listen to the woman on the line.

"What?" Emerald eyes rolled in frustration but she went along with what the DJ asked.

"You are the TWENTY-THIRD CALLER!!" DJ T.K exclaimed.

Natsuki honestly didn't care for what the man had to say—she just wanted to know the updated weather report—but the only way to achieve her goal, as things were right now, seemed to be to finish the conversation with the annoying DJ.

"Ugh, so what…? What's so good about being the twenty-third caller?"

"You won the contest!" finally they were getting somewhere with the conversation.

_'Wait… contest?' _she didn't remember entering any contests, all she remembered was calling the radio station so she could listen to Viola talk about the weather. _'…Contest… twenty-third caller… it was something about a date.' _Her memory was coming together in a weird puzzle with missing pieces she just hoped it wasn't _exactly_ what she thought.

Natsuki hadn't realized she had voiced her thoughts or that the man was still trying to talk to her.

"Kuga-san?" the woman in question grunted to let the annoying, flirtatious man know she heard him.

"You have just won a date…" _'Ugh… I knew this was coming'_

"With DJ…" she was about to flat out deny the man and hang up, but a little voice that sounded strangely like her house-mate's went through her mind.

_"If you let _everyone_ hear how mean you are __it'll__ be bad for business!"_

_'Huh?' _Natsuki wasn't really sure how that would improve the boy's chances at an outright rejection.

_"__Cough cough."_ The little Mai seemed to be choking._ "Ahem… what I meant to say was __'__when you turn someone down you should let them finish what they say before denying them subtly.__'__"_

_'Well that makes __a _little _more sense.'_ She decided that she would listen to her Mai-sounding conscience.

"…T.K's great friend Viola!" Green eyes widened in shock as she slammed her foot on the brake.

As the car screeched to a halt the young woman could only think one thing:

_'That wasn't what I thought at all!'

* * *

_

**Omake:** the reason!

Natsuki: -puts the car in reverse and begins to back out of the driveway-

_Vroom vroom. _A gang of bikers on Harleys start to ride past the house.

Unimportant biker#1: hey baby, how 'bout you get outta that car and take a ride on a man's bike?-he raised his eyebrows suggestively-

Natsuki: With you…? No way!

Biker#2: -rides up and blocks Natsuki from leaving the driveway- c'mon babe ya know ya wanna!

Natsuki: VIOLA!

Viola: -appears out of nowhere with a robe and a staff-

Natsuki: Didn't you say it was gonna rain today?-smirks-

Viola: -smiles evilly- Why yes I did… -begins to chant-

All the bikers get scared and try to ride away from the woman in a mage outfit.

Viola: I call upon the spirits of the wind, water, and sky… -her staff glows- combine your powers so these pigs are no longer dry! –she turns blue and points her staff at the biker gang-

A curtain of water pours onto the gang of bikers and after ten seconds disappears. All the bikers are on the ground soaked and unconscious.

Natsuki: -gets out of car and pokes an unconscious guy with a stick- I think you went a little too far…

Viola: -tapping her staff against her hand- I said no longer DRY, not no longer DRIVE!

* * *

**A/N: **Wow. This is the longest thing I have written (on so far... also I keep coming up with the dumbest things for stories, I'm even surprised people like them. 

To tell you the truth I wasn't even going to post this 'til after I finished "Obsessions..." chapter 5. But it's all g 'cuz there's lots of work needed to finish the other chappie. Wellz drop a line or two. It would make me really happy!

-naomi


	2. The Process of Passing and Wasting Time

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Mai Hime or any brand names in this chapter.

**Warning:** The usual shoujo ai, AU, bad grammer. Terrible OoCness (probably). Exploring writing. Citrus scented.

**A/N:** Let me just give you guys/girls a heads up on a few things that _might_ help you understand this story and chapter a little better.

"---" – is a small page break, for me it generally means a change in place, but keeping the same time (switching the characters I'm talking writing about).

"-xOx-" – is a change in the scene and time.

"/oXo\" – is a change in the time but not place.

"--" and_"texting__."_– will represent texting.

_'__thoughts__'_

"talking."

_Sound effects._

**Thanks you everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, faved or did a mixture of any of those four! **Sorry if I didn't reply to your reviews either! I'm glad many of you seemed to think the _OMAKE_ was good...

**Azn-anime:** I'm happy you read my story and that I _somewhat_ brought you back after... _that... _Stay well!!

**throwing-dynamite: **Thanks. I know what you mean... that's why there will be MORE than ShizNat in this chapter!! (lol. there is no ShizNat in this chappie!)

**Edge-Keen Blade:** Ooh! I love your stories!! Glad you liked the omake.

**fan-rei:** Good question... Viola let herself be drafted as part of the date because... the radio station gives out random prizes and the just wanted to be different; so every couple of months someone is picked to go on a date as a prize for a contest.

**lindred:** haha... Almost anything that happens to Natsuki has happened to me... (yes I am that stupid when angry!) so the screen door thing and the passenger seat thing... it all happened to me. lol.

**Hoppy-chan:** OMG! wow... you read _this?_ I mean not _this_ but the last chapter? and you liked the omake?? wow. thanks!! Cheers for genericness!! ps. I LOVE your stories!!

**Swarm012: **Great perceptive skills! I think you're the only one who noticed it! ... Just thought you should know... I LOVERS your stories, they are SO AWESOME!

Kae: thanks for the review... I'm sorry I couldn't actually reply to you review... but thank you anyways!

Now let's not waste any more time! Onwards to chapter two!

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Chapter Two: _The Process of Passing and Wasting Time_

_Screeeeeeeeeeech_

_'I can't believe what I'm hearing!'_

"What was that?!" the blue-haired biker questioned.

"You won a date with Viola!" the head DJ exclaimed.

"But--"

"Come by the station before closing to get more info on the date!!"

"Wait! I don't even know what time it closes—and I don't even wanna--"

"Eight o'clock Kuga-chan! Don't be late!"

_Click._

"T.K! I wasn't finished with you!" the car driving biker screamed at the dead line while pounding on the car's steering wheel.

-xOx-

_Ring __Ring__ Click._

"Hello?"

"Nina-chan!" a hysterical voice yelled. "I almost died!!"

"Huh?" Nina asked confused.

"I _almost_ DIED!" the girl screeched again.

"So you called me in the middle of work to tell me about something that _didn't even happen?"_

"Uh… yeah…." The girl was curling her orange braids with her fingers.

"You're wasting my Arika!" complained the irritated coffee shop owner.

"But Ers-chan started breathing really hard and I think… oh she fell asleep…"

"Erstin? She's with you? Is she okay?!" Nina pressed the scared driver.

"I think she's okay… but her face is all red and--" Arika grinned when the other girl interrupted her.

"Where are you? What happened?"

"We were on the highway, going to the mall, and all of a sudden this car stops in front of us! And I mean they didn't give us any warning—the person just slammed on their brakes!!"

The azure-haired teen nodded to herself and kept quiet to allow the other girl to continue.

"Ers-chan was so scared because…" she took a breath before continuing, "IlookedawayfromtheroadwhenIwasmakingfacesatherandalmosthitthecarthatstopped!"

The blue-haired coffee maker glared at her phone, "Arika could you try breathing? I can't understand what you're saying!"

"Well…" the girl started; curling her braided hair again, "I looked away from--"

A soft moan sounded throughout the small vehicle, "Uh… Arika-chan…."

Arika looked to her right, "Ers-chan!"

The blonde in the passenger seat groaned and rubbed her forehead.

"Erstin? Is she okay now?!" the blunette on the phone questioned the orange-haired teen rapidly.

"She's fine_… _do you wanna talk to her _Nina-__chan__?"_ Arika grinned at the passenger whose face was turning a soft pink.

"Ah… umm… I uh… have to get back to work!" the orange eyed teen stammered with a soft blush adorning her cheeks.

"But Nina-chan you were so _worried_ about _Erstin_ a few seconds ago… are you_ sure_ you don't want to talk to her?" the driver looked to her right to see the blonde's reaction. The girl was turning a deeper shade of red.

"What about you _Ers-chan_? Do _you_ wanna talk to Nina-chan?"

"I… well… N-Nina-chan might be busy… I don't want to bother her…." Erstin replied softly as she looked at her hands that were folded in her lap.

Arika sighed, _'this is hopeless... well almost,' _she smirked to herself.

"Well why don't we go to the Café? I'm sure Nina won't mind… this way she can work and we can talk to her!"

"Ah but--"

"Nuh-uh, no buts, either of you, besides baa-chan said 'you should always make time for the ones you love.'"

The two other girls laughed at the Arika's choice of words—well her _grandma's—_but agreed to the meeting.

"Okay Nina-chan! We'll see you in a few minutes!" the cheerful (no longer terrified) girl squealed before hanging up on the coffee shop owner.

_'It pays being "clueless."'_ Arika chuckled.

"What is it Arika-chan?"

"Nothing Ers-chan, I just can't wait to see Nina-chan!" the girl in question replied to her blonde friend.

---

At a coffee shop a few miles away a beautiful young woman is seen with a pink tinge on her cheeks and a small smile on her lips. She was wearing black pinstriped pants, a tan apron—with the café's name across the top—covering a white collared shirt with her coffee shop's logo, a maiden holding a steaming beverage, over her left breast, plain black low-top Converse and her hair was let down—out of its usual ponytails and twin braids.

_'Make time for those you love, eh…__'_ the woman looked at her cell phone before returning it to her pocket.

_'It's __almost__ seven… I suppose an half an hour for my lo-_friends_ wouldn't hurt.'_

She shook her head before opening the door to the shop and returning to her job.

-xOx-

Natsuki sighed, _'what am I supposed to do now?'_

She sat in the small car wondering what to do next.

_HONK!__ HONK!_

_'What the hell… why is someone honking at me?!' _the twenty-year-old looked into the car's rear view mirror.

_'Why are all those cars stopped…?'_ the woman looked in front of her, _'why am I not moving… oh!'_

The blunette scratched the back of her head and grinned sheepishly. _'Whoops.'_

She took her foot off of the brake and drove off with a trail of angry drivers following closely behind her.

/oXo\

_'Gosh that was embarrassing!'_ Natsuki thought as she tried to rid herself of her blush. She turned up the volume on the stereo to calm herself down.

_'Maybe I should take a break… I've still got,'_ she paused her thoughts to look at the time; the clock's blue numbers flashed 6:38, _'__about an hour and t__wenty__ minutes __before the station closes.'_

She sighed again, _'I might as well tell Mai I'm coming home late.'_

_--_

_"Hey Mai, I'm __gonna__ be a __lil__ busy. Don't wait up. –Natsuki"_

_"Okay, I'll leave some food in the fridge in case you get hungry later though, just warm it up… And I want all the details tomorrow! –Mai"_

Natsuki smiled at her best friend's text and quickly replied that she would let her know all about what happened when she got home.

--

The woman pulled into a parking lot, parked her car and got out; she took in the scent of the previous rain and exhaled peacefully.

Emerald eyes glanced at unfamiliar surroundings before settling on a small shop, Otome café.

Natsuki walked up to the small, but comfortable looking café and opened the door. Instantly her nose was filled with the scent of coffee beans and freshly brewed coffee.

The azure-haired woman looked around the shop, it was very comfortable. There were a few booths along the walls and small, round metal tables with glass tops surrounded by cozy looking chairs along the center of the floor. An old-fashioned juke box stood against the far wall, next to the restrooms, and it was playing a soft tune she didn't recognize. Black and white photographs, along with a few colored ones adorned the abstract, multi-colored walls. The counter of the shop was a few feet away from the door and it held a cash register and a tip jar. Next to the counter was a glass case that sheltered an assortment of cakes, sandwiches, cookies, and other various sweet and healthy treats. Behind the counter and along the wall was a station for making a variety of drinks, there was a mini fridge under one of the section of the counter and cabinets that Natsuki assumed held items that would help make the beverages.

All in all Natsuki seemed pleased with the sight, and so did the other people who were relaxing in the cozy café.

There was a jingle and Natsuki turned her head toward the door to see two familiar faces.

"Ah Natsuki!" the two young women called out to their friend.

"Chie, Aoi…" the blunette nodded her head toward her former classmates.

Chie was looking charming in black slightly baggy jeans, a white, short-sleeved collared shirt, a plain black tie and simple white Nikes. Aoi looked comfortable in an austere yellow sundress that went to her knees, a matching yellow headband—her hair still in its usual, long braid—and low, casual brown heels.

"What brings you here?" the black-haired reporter asked.

"Er… well…."

"Chie! You haven't seen the girl in nearly a year and the first thing you do is ask her why she's here?" she grabbed her girlfriend's hand and pulled her into a nearby booth, motioning with her head for the flustered girl to follow.

The three women sat down and engaged in comfortable conversation for a while, catching up on what went on during the ten and a half months that they haven't seen each other.

Finally after a half hour of talking Chie asked the blue-haired woman her earlier question, "so what brings you to this part of Fuuka." The woman moved her right hand as if to emphasize the area they were in.

"Well, you promise not to laugh?" Natsuki looked over at her two friends.

Aoi nodded her head and smiled while Chie only smirked, earning her a playful smack by her girlfriend.

"Hai hai." The woman laughed slightly before removing her glasses and kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.

Aoi blushed at the small public display of affection before turning so that she was giving her full attention to the azure-haired woman in front of them. And it was quite hard because a certain someone's hand was slowly crawling up her thigh from underneath the table.

"Mmm…" Aoi softly moaned, her eyes shutting slightly and a smile claiming her lips.

Natsuki who was clueless as to what was going on across from her started her story thinking that Aoi had given her a cue to start.

By the time the short tale had finished two of the three women were very red, one more so than the other, while the other woman had a very large smirk on her face.

"Ah! S-so you came here to… c-clear your _mind_?"

Natsuki nodded, but she couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with her brown-haired friend. Aoi seemed to be taking longer to say things and she was turning redder and redder by the second, but that's not all, she would gasp and take long breaths and stutter words—it wouldn't seem like a big deal when they first met because the brown-haired woman was shy, but now they were close friends, so Aoi shouldn't be nervous around her.

_'So why?'_ Natsuki furrowed her eyebrows at the thought. _'Is it my fault… did I do something wrong?'_ She hated the thought of having someone close uncomfortable with her; she was no longer in high school and she had begun to value the friendships she had. Even if she didn't want to admit it, having friends were better than being alone.

She sighed and shook herself from her thoughts, "Aoi are you okay?"

"Nn… Mmm… yeah… I'm fine, but it's getting late… and I'm getting a little tired," Aoi said taking a breath and groaning every few words.

"Maybe you should go home and rest…." The blunette replied to the "tired" woman.

"M'kay Natsuki…." The brunette breathed out as Chie put on her glasses and stood up from the booth.

"Well we'll see you soon Natsuki. Have fun on your _date!"_ the reporter teased the blue-haired woman as she helped up her panting girlfriend.

Natsuki blushed and looked at her empty cup of coffee. "Chie," she called out to the woman while she was leaving. "I'll see you guys soon… and take care of Aoi." She finished with a small smile.

"Oh… don't worry I will." The woman smirked, her chocolate eyes glinting mischievously. She waved with her right hand as she left the café, holding her girlfriend around the waist with her left hand.

The biker's smile faltered, she couldn't help but feel as though the other woman's statement had another meaning to it, not to mention the suggestive tone she said it in. She raised her eyebrows in realization, blood quickly rushing up her creamy body to her face.

_'They were doing _'that'_ while I was sitting right here!'_ she placed her head on the cool surface of the table and groaned. "This place was supposed to cool me down!"

---

In the parking lot of a familiar café, two women get into a midnight blue Mustang.

"Twenty minutes… that's a new record Aoi." The raven haired reporter whispered into her lover's ear.

"I can't believe… you… did… that…." Her words started to slow as the hand slowly edged its way up her thigh again. "Nn-na-tsu-ki—" she was cut off when soft lips covered her own.

"I never want to hear you say another woman's name like that again." Chie kissed her girlfriend deeply.

"And as punishment… I'm gonna have you say… my name… all night." She finished sultrily pausing after every few words to place a kiss on the other woman's lips.

"Mmm… Chie…." Aoi gasped as the other woman's lips claimed a spot on her neck.

"That's right… say _my _name."

---

A few cars down, two women were getting out of a red and white Mini Cooper. The first woman was looking pretty in pink and had orange hair that was put in two long braids, she was wearing a pair of denim jeans, a pink spaghetti strap top, and pink and white high-top Converse that were folded down. The second woman seemed to be feeling _blue _and was wearing blue jean shorts, a light blue baby doll tee under a blue jean jacket, and plain blue flats; her blonde hair adorning a sky blue headband to put the finishing touches on her outfit.

"C'mon Ers-chan, Nina's probably waiting for us!" the cheerful orange-haired woman called to her blonde friend.

Erstin, giving herself a onceover in the window of the little vehicle, followed her overly-excited friend into the café, "hai, Arika-chan!"

---

_Jingle._

"NINA-CHAN!" the orange-haired girl yelled for her favorite coffee maker.

"Arika," "Arika-chan," two voices sounded at the same time.

The enthusiastic teen grinned embarrassingly and looked between the two females who called her name.

"Nina-chan we're here now!" Arika pulled the woman out from behind her.

"Ah!" Erstin lost her balance and started to fall forward.

"Ers!"

Apple green eyes were shut tight as the girl waited for her impending doom, but it never came. She felt herself being braced against a soft warm object and opened her eyes to see what had saved her."Nina… chan."

The dark-haired beauty was holding the light-haired woman protectively against her chest. Her orange eyes gazed into the blonde's light green ones.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked softly.

The yellow-haired girl could feel the other woman's breath on her face and nodded. Her mouth turned dry and she licked her lips trying to bring back the moisture she lost. She looked back into the blunette's eyes and saw the worry deep in them; the other woman was still worried about the accident.

"I'm fine Nina." Erstin smiled sincerely at her savior.

_'No __'__chan__'__' _thought all three girl's at once. Everyone knew Erstin was never that informal with someone, there was always some kind of honorific added onto someone's name when the girl said it.

_Ring __Ring_

The sound of a phone caused the blonde teen to jump while the blue-haired girl pulled her closer protectively.

"Hello?" the carrot-head answered.

"Uh huh… no… haha… okay, I'll be there soon! Bye!" she looked apologetically at her two (still embracing) best friends. Nina raised an eyebrow while Erstin turned her head slightly toward the woman next to the door.

"That was Mashiro…" the girl grinned. "She wants to see me."

It wasn't as if she was hiding anything from her friends, they just didn't see the not-so-open relationship she had with the mayor's daughter.

"You think you can stop hugging Ers-chan long enough to make me a latte?" she smiled _innocently_. She might be trying to get the two together, but she was thirsty and her dear Mashiro-chan was waiting.

The two women blushed before extracting themselves from each other so Nina could make the carrot-top's beverage.

After a few seconds—used expertly on Nina's behalf—Arika paid for her drink and made her way out the door; not before saying one last thing though, "Erstin your gonna have to get a ride from Nina! See you guys later!"

The other two women stood stupefied as the orange-haired woman sped out of the parking lot and away from the café.

/oXo\

Natsuki looked over at the eighteen-year-olds looking out the door and then at the clock above the counter, next to the list of available and reasonable priced drinks.

_'Sigh… 7:45… maybe I should get going.'_

The older azure-haired woman made her way to the younger dark-haired woman to pay for her drink. _'Maybe Viola might want something too…'_

Not really knowing what the mysterious woman would want, Natsuki settled on a tall green tea and she ordered herself another drink, a mocha frappuccino.

"A tall green tea and a mocha frappuccino with whipped cream, is that all?" the coffee asked. Natsuki nodded her head.

"That'll be $5.49… out of six?" the high school senior paused to make change for the emerald-eyed woman in front of her, "Fifty-one cents is your change… Thank you and have a nice day Natsuki."

"Yeah, you too Nina," Natsuki paused to grab her drinks. "This is a nice little shop you've got here; I'll have to make sure to come back sometime." She finished with a small grin and walked out of the cozy café.

A confused blonde looked between the two blunettes, wondering how they knew each other.

"She's my cousin, her and her little sister are all the family I have left." Nina answered the unasked question.

"Oh…." the blonde said sadly.

"Its okay, that was the past," the orange-eyed girl said referring to her family's accident.

The blonde didn't say anything and instead wrapped her arms around her crush's waist as they watched Natsuki leave.

-xOx-

It took a little less than ten minutes for the azure-haired woman to get to the small building that contained the radio station.

She walked into through tinted sliding doors and into the lobby of the building. It was formal, yet casual, there were people sipping drinks on the cream-colored chairs and there were potted plants decorated the floor. She could tell the people were laid back in their comfortable environment.

"Can I help you?" the woman sitting at the main desk asked. She had jade-colored hair that reached the bottom of her chin on the left and it was cut longer on the right, reaching past her shoulder. She wore a black, long-sleeved blouse and dark blue jeans, on her feet were brown leather high-heel boots.

"Umm… yeah…" Natsuki stopped to figure out what to say. "I'm Kuga Natsuki and I'm here to see get the details on the da-er contest I won."

"Oh so _you're_ the one that one that won the date with Viola-sama." Natsuki could feel the woman's grey eyes scrutinize her from behind their dark lenses.

"Yeah and your point is?" the blunette glared at the other woman. _'Who is _she_ to judge _me_?'_

The other woman's look faltered under the emerald-eyed woman's cold gaze. "Follow me," the receptionist huffed and walked to an elevator brusquely.

The blue-haired woman smirked and carried the two drinks over to the elevator.

/oXo\

The green-haired woman led Natsuki down a hall and into a small room with a large window, satin couches, and an oak coffee table.

"D.J T.K will be here soon to give you the details." The forest-haired woman turned on her heel and made her way out the door.

"Oh… umm… thank you…" the blunette started before she realized she didn't know the other woman's name.

"Tomoe Marguerite." The woman turned around, looking not-so-hateful at her.

"Thank you, Marguerite-san." Natsuki repeated and the woman nodded before finally leaving the room.

To tell you the truth, the emerald-eyed beauty wasn't really sure why she thanked the bitc-receptionist. Maybe her "Mai conscious" was getting to her, _'I'm spending too much time with that girl,'_ Natsuki concluded.

_'And now we play the waiting game,' _Natsuki leaned back in the comfortable chair with her arms behind her head and looked out of the tinted window into the night sky.

* * *

**Omake:**

Natsuki: Viola I brought you some tea! -hands Viola the tea-

Viola: Thank you Natsuki. -takes a sip-

Viola: Blech! What is this? -glares at Natsuki-

Natsuki: I-it's supposed to be green tea...

Viola: That's right... It's _supposed _to be GREEN TEA! But this... -points to cup- this _tea_ tastes like some watered down CRAP mixed with some kind of milk. -Viola turns into a mage and points her staff at Natsuki-

Natsuki: -cowers under Viola's might- L-let me see t-that... -takes a sip of the other woman's drink-

Natsuki: This is my Frappuccino... -tastes the other drink- here's your tea.

Viola: -takes a sip of the "tea"- Oh... here's my tea. -sits down and drinks it calmly-

Natsuki: -sweatdrops- Aren't you forgetting something?

Viola: Ara... -grabs some sugar- you were right.

Natsuki: Where's the apology?!

Viola: I forgive you Natsuki. -smiles brightly-

Natsuki: -mutters under her breath- Hopeless...

Viola: -points her glowing staff at Natsuki- What was that?

Natsuki: N-nothing!

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for anyone who wanted Viola to be in this chapter... but yeah... she's not. -.-" plus I really wanted to add in a lot of other people into this story. The MAIN PAIRINGS will be: ShizNat and MaiMiko... but there will be other couples in here as you can see. And sorry if the Omake wasn't very good... I had to pull that one outta my ass... the one in the first chapter had been bugging me the entire time I was writing but this one... I just put one in. 

I really wanted to be a bitch and cut the chapter in half... especially 'cuz I know the next one probably won't be that long... But meh. XP! I decided to keep it long. Just to let you know... to me this is UBER long 11-12 pages and over 4,000 words? WOW! New record for me!!

!!wanna you know you c'mon Review... (read backwards)

peaces, naomi.


	3. Unanswered Questions and Flowery Love

**A/N:** Okay… let me just say many of you will probably hate this chapter… I really have no clue what I'm doing and I'm just trying to run with what I got. Also I know that the characters will probably (they are) out of character… but it's an AU and I don't really care. You were warned in the past about it (meaning I really don't want any complaints).

Sorry if I sound mean or rude… but I'm am VERY ticked off. _Someone _(my brother) was downloading something he shouldn't have (pr0n) on _MY_ laptop and got a VIRUS! So I pretty much had to rewrite this WHOLE chapter over! Plus when I was on a roll _someone_ called me and tried to engage in a meaningless conversation with me. Now I'm all for talking to my friends… but when fcukin' pr0n sites keep poppin' up and I'm ticked off and writing… you leave me ALONE.

Anyways everything from the previous chapters applies (the disclaimer, warnings, and the key) Sorry for wasting your time with the long arse A/N just thought you _might_ want to know what was goin' on.

**Thanks:** **lindred, Azfixiation, elfspirit7, ManiazAzn, Alphawolf69, ALEXISSA2, throwing-dynamite, Swarm012, ssjx7squall, -Trinity- of April beauty., AnimeJock, anonymous, 0InuchansaysArf0, ToumaSan, yurianimeotaku. **

**Without your reviews I wouldn't have finished this chapter! Thanks for the support this is dedicated to you guys!**

* * *

Chapter Three: _Unanswered Questions and Flowery Love_

The azure-haired girl sat and waited for the head DJ to come to the small waiting room to give her the _details_.

_'I wonder what I'm getting myself into.'_ Natsuki pondered and looked at her cell phone for the time.

_'8:15…? I've been waiting for that guy for like twenty minutes! Where the fu—'_

Just as she was about to finish that thought a man with black hair walked into the room with a manila folder in his hands.

_'He better have a good reason for taking so long!' _Natsuki glared at the man who began to introduce himself.

"Hello Kuga-san, I'm Takeda or DJ T.K as I like to be called." The man said in his best "manly" voice as he reached out to shake the emerald-eyed beauty's hand with a smile on his face.

Natsuki looked at the hand held out to her and then at the man it belonged to and shivered. He wasn't entirely unattractive, but his cockiness was overbearing and it annoyed the blunette to no end. He wore a large dark blue zip-up hoody over a white A-shirt and black baggy pants that covered the top of his very clean, white Nike Air Force 1s. He also had on a white and black, pinstripe, flat bill hat that somehow defied the laws of gravity and sat the back of his head with little support from his spiky locks.

Against her better judgment she the DJ's hand. _'Eww, his palms are all sweaty!'_

The blunette quickly pulled her hand out of the man's grasp and wiped it on her jeans. It was disgusting, Takeda or T.K, whatever, was looking at her like a piece of meat! His gaze had travelled the length of her body multiple times.

_'Pathetic.' _Natsuki thought as she tried to control herself from hitting the bag of testosterone.

"Are you gonna tell me about the contest or what?" the girl rolled her emerald orbs.

"Of course Natsuki-san! I can call you Natsuki right?" the man said making his voice an octave lower as he made a move to sit down next to the beautiful blunette.

"No!" Natsuki said with obvious disgust. '_What the hell __is he trying to do__'_

She tried to scoot herself to the edge of the chair and finally realized how small it actually was—no matter how much she moved over she was still right next to him by a few inches.

"Just hurry up and tell me! Eek! _–SLAP- _if you so much as _try_ and touch me again I will cut off your ba--"

_Ring Ring!_

"WHAT?!" the blushing, blue-haired woman yelled into the phone.

"Chill Kuga," came an aggravated voice.

"Yuuki?" emerald eyes widened surprised.

"Who else you damn dog?!" the other woman growled out.

"Shut up freaking spider!--GAH! Bastard!"

Nao listened in from the other side; she heard glass and other furniture breaking, pained screams, angry yells… and was that a gunshot?

"O-oi! Kuga what's happening!" the redhead held the phone closer to her ear as if it would help her _see_ what was going on.

"haah haah," Natsuki panted. "That bastard tried to touch me again!"

"Oh? Now _Natsuki_, why don't tell me what's _really_ happening?" the nineteen-year-old asked suggestively.

"Agh Nao! I'm busy right now, so hurry up and tell me why you called!" the blunette yelled agitated.

"Okay whatever," '_bitch__'_ she left the last bit out. She wasn't really in the mood to get in an argument, plus she had things do, places to go and people to take advantage of…. "Anyways Mikoto told me to tell Mai that she'd be home a late, but since I no longer have her number I'm giving you the message to pass on."

Natsuki meekly rubbed the back of her head. It had been her fault Nao was missing multiple phone numbers, but it was an accident! She got confused with the English message on the other girl's bag—it said flammable! How was she supposed to know that _flammable_ items didn't get along with fire; flammable seems like "flame able" and therefore able to be set on fire. Besides it seemed like a good idea at the time… adding on to the fact that alcohol had impaired her rationality.

The blue-haired girl sighed, "Yeah, I'll tell her. But I'll talk to you later… I kind of won this date…" _'Shit… I was supposed to say "contest!"'_

Natsuki waited for the barrage of questions, yet surprisingly, none came.

"Huh? Aren't you gonna ask about it?" she asked confused.

"Nah, I know you're gonna tell me later." Nao said smugly. "Besides, it's better to get all the details _after_."

Natsuki blinked. "Nao!" but it was too late, the younger woman had already hung up.

"Mnn…" a voice behind the woman groaned.

"I can't believe you! I tapped your shoulder to let you see the details of your date!" Takeda's cried out, his voice was noticeably higher than earlier and it was muffled by the carpeted ground. He painfully rolled over grabbed his manhood, "Good it's still there."

"What's still there? When I kicked all I felt was air; for a second I thought I missed… that is until you fell over." The emerald-eyed woman smirked, crossing her arms at her chest.

Takeda's face heated up and he was about to yell at the woman but when he looked up from his position on the ground he was mesmerized.

"Get up." She made a move to nudge the DJ with her foot but thought against making contact with him, and instead, grabbed one of the legs of the broken table and poked him in the side with it. "Hurry up and tell me about the contest."

Takeda took a sharp breath and tried not to cry out,_'Ah! My spleen!'_

He was still trying to impress the woman in front of him, he quietly grabbed his bruising side and nodded; his white hat shook on the tip of his spikes—it had somehow stayed on his head during the whole ordeal.

"Kuga-san," the black-haired man started uneasily, "In this manila folder you will see the rules and regulations." He handed the blunette the folder and began to explain the details.

"There are three important rules for your date with Viola." He pointed to the bottom of the sheet.

_'If it's so _important_ why is it at the bottom of the freakin' sheet?'_ Natsuki wondered as Takeda continued to speak. _'Rules? Do they think I'm going to try something?'_

"Rule three: No sexually harassing Viola." He took a pen out of his pocket and told Natsuki to sign the bottom of the sheet. "Now if there are no questions…" he paused to look at the woman in front of him, but quickly looked away, afraid that the beauty would cause him more pain—both physically and mentally.

The head DJ looked down and took the folder as Natsuki raised her hand toward him to ask a question. Takeda freaked out thinking she was going to hit him and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Uh, Kuga-san… your date with Viola will be tomorrow, please pick her up at the station tomorrow at 2:30 p.m." He bowed and left the room in a rush.

"Wait!" she called out after the DJ.

"W-what…?" Takeda shakily asked.

"Can you give this to Viola? I kind of bought it for her but since I'm not gonna see her tonight…"

He took the tea into his large hands before nodding and walking out of the room for a second time.

As he disappeared behind a corner Natsuki could only think one thing, _'__I __forgot to ask about__ the first two rules!!'_

-xOx-

_Growl._

_'I'm so hungry!'_ the raven-haired girl looked at the clock, it was 8:45.

"Sorry for the wait ma'am." The balding man in the simple grey slacks and a white shirt told the young woman kindly.

"It's okay! I didn't wait that long!" _'Only about an hour….'_ Mikoto kept her smile on trying to be polite, she had been drilled on manners from her busty roommate.

_'I wonder what Mai's making for dinner…'_ the girl's body warmed at the thought of a meal with the one she loved. _'But does she love me?'_

"Are you okay ma'am?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you if this was what you wanted and you smiled real wide… then you frowned." The old man explained to the confused nineteen-year-old.

"Oh! I'm fine sir, I was just thinking about something." The raven-haired teen smiled broadly and paid for the items.

"O-okay then." The old shop keeper stammered at the sudden change in the girl's emotions and looked down at the cash register.

"Thank you, bye!" Mikoto waved as she left.

"Wait, your change!" the old man called out to the young woman, but she was already out the door.

Mikoto ran. Her blue, denim shorts clung to her legs as she ran and her small, red collared shirt began to get wet from sweat. Her plain-white Etnies scuffed the ground as she picked up her pace and the items she purchased jumbled around in her red and black backpack.

She ran the four and a half miles back to the house her and her friends owned.

By the time Mikoto reached her cream-colored, two-story, four bedroom house, her mind had finally cleared. The lithe girl bent over to catch her breath and saw a four-leaf clover and an interesting looking flower in the small garden next to the two car garage.

She picked up both and seated herself in the soft grass, examining the two oddities of nature under the moonlight.

"She loves me, she loves me not." She began plucking petals off of the interesting flower and placing them into a small pocket in her bag.

"She loves me, she loves me not," she repeated the mantra over and over again—her features lighting up at the chance of love and darkening when it wasn't—until there was only one petal left.

"She loves me not." Mikoto almost broke down; she readied herself to fling the flower to some faraway place for causing her misery, but when she saw the back, there was a lonesome petal, hiding behind the stem of the flower, just barely attached to the core.

She pulled it off, "she loves me!"

She dropped the petal-less flower with the lucky clover into her bag, along the other petals and ran inside.

"MAI!" she called for the older woman.

"Hey Mikoto, I'm in kitchen."

Mikoto came up to the _slightly_unsuspecting cook—who was washing dishes—and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist from behind. "Tadaima."

Mai had yet to change into some nightwear, so she was still wearing what she wore to work. The usual uniform for the restaurant/karaoke bar was an assortment of costumes, but since it was casual Friday she chose to wear a blue, plaid pleated skirt, a pink, one-sleeved tank top, blue and white Reebok classics, and a frilly pink and white work apron. Although the apron was slightly altered to her liking, after all she was the owner of The Princess Café.

"Okaeri, Miko--"

The raven-haired student turned the orange-haired chef around and swiftly caught her lips during the movement.

_'Please don't push me away again.' _Mikoto held the other woman tightly.

The purple orbs widened before relaxing into the kiss. The yellow-eyed teen grinned and closed her eyes.

The lip-lock ended shortly, but it was caring and sweet. For a moment, the two women gazed lovingly into each other's eyes.

_Grooowwwl!_

Mikoto blushed as she ruined the moment. Mai only smiled and ruffled the younger woman's wild tresses.

The buxom woman gave a chaste kiss to the less endowed woman and removed herself from the loving embrace. "I'll warm you up some food."

Mikoto smiled dreamily.

"So what did you do all day?" the carrot-haired woman asked her girlfriend_'Is she my girlfriend?__'_

She wasn't sure, _'She kissed me, so she likes me… right?'_

"I went to a couple of stores and… ah, my bag!" Mikoto's golden eyes glanced around the room for her backpack. "No! I left it outside…"

She spun on her heels, leaving the confused woman to continue cooking.

"I can't believe I left my bag outside!" the onyx-haired girl looked for her bag in her front yard.

"I know I left it here! Where is it?!"

"Meow."

She slowly turned her head to the side and her yellow eyes spotted equally golden ones reflecting off of the bright porch light. "Jubei…."

"Meow!" the fat cat disappeared into the shadows of the night.

"Argh! You better come back here!" she ran away from the bright light, following her cat into the darkness. "That has Mai's present, if you break it… I'll kill you!"

---

"Mikoto?" Mai yelled out to the empty house.

She set a bowl of steaming ramen on a small wooden table and put her head down on the cool surface. "Mou, you kiss me and you run off? What's going on…?"

---

"I can't believe him!" the blue-haired woman seethed as she got into the red hatchback.

"Oh crap! I forgot to call Mai!" she hurriedly pressed speed dial number two, for some reason she saved the first number and started adding important contacts from the second number on.

_Ring. Ring. Click._

"N-natsuki?"

The girl in question blinked, had her friend been crying? "Mai what's wrong?"

"M-miko… Mikoto… she… she…." the buxom was sniffing quietly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you she was coming home late! It's just I forgot… I mean like Takeda tried to touch me and—"

"Wah! She left me all alone… she kissed me and I was making her dinner then she ran off!"

"I kicked his ass and… wait… she k-_kissed_ you?" the blunette blushed.

"Umm…" the carrot-haired woman realized her slip. "Well yeah… she just ran inside, and gave me a hug. Then the next thing I know she was kissing me." Her cheeks colored at the thought of kissing the runaway teen.

"Oh… well then… I'll see what I can do." Natsuki tried to ignore the pain in her chest.

"Natsuki?"

"Well, you're my… you're my best friend and I don't want you feeling sad." She tried to stay cool during the conversation, but she could feel her voice trembling. "I'm on my way home now. I'll look for Mikoto."

"Thank you Natsuki." She could feel the other woman's grateful smile over the phone.

"Yeah yeah, and when I get home there better be hot food and _extra_ mayonnaise!" the azure-haired smiled to herself when she heard the other woman's 'hai, hai' and softly added, "you better not be crying either."

She quickly hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief; she had avoided a tease, helped her best friend stop crying, _and_ she was also going to have extra mayo with her dinner! Mai had cut down her supply considerably, so getting a treat like that would put a great ending to her… _eventful_ day. Talk about shooting down multiple targets with a single bullet!

---

Mai laughed at herself. Natsuki had just cheered her up… in a very unique way. It wasn't actually the other girl's forte but she tried!

She walked to their simple restroom, splashed some water on her face, and softly slapped her cheeks. _'Okay. All better now!'_

Mai thought about her emerald-eyed housemate. She tried to be cool all the time and act like she didn't care (and most of the time she didn't) but if it concerned her close friends, she would jump into action.

_'Like that time with Tate in the park… she got him _good._ Maybe a little too good, but__ he did deserve it… I did tell him to stop__.'_ She smiled at her friends over protectiveness.

_'I just hope she doesn't interrupt anything with __me and __Mikoto in the future…__'_Mai's face turned a deep red.

'_G__ah__ what am I thinking!'_ she shook her head and splashed some cold water on her reddening face to rid herself from her previous thoughts.

-xOx-

Natsuki was driving home; she was a block away from her house, when a figure ran in front of her car.

"AHH!" the blue-haired woman turned the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes to avoid the figure.

She opened her emerald eyes and saw the figure was standing stiff like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Mikoto!" Natsuki jumped out of her car and stomped toward the woman who was grinning at her.

"Natsuki!"

"Stop grinning at me! What if I hit you?!"

"But you didn't."

"That's not the point! I'm saying 'what if!'"

The raven-haired teen scratched tried to scratch but the object in her hands prevented her from doing so, it reminded her of the reason why she was getting scolded by her house mate. The fat cat was settled in her arms with her bag hanging from its mouth.

"I had to save Mai… my bag… because Jubei," she glared at the tabby, "ran off with it." Mikoto inwardly grinned at her save.

"Whatever, just get in the car." The blunette sighed.

The two dark-haired women began the drive home in silence.

"I know about you and Mai…"

Mikoto blinked and looked over at the driver. She wasn't sure Natsuki had said anything, if she did it was soft and sounded like a drawn out cough.

"What…?"

"I know about you and Mai." It was a little louder, but the cough was still there.

Mikoto blushed, did she say what she thought she said. The tinge on the older woman's cheeks was all evidence she needed.

"H-how?"

"Mai told me; she was worried when you left."

"Why? I only went outside to get her gift…"

Natsuki ignored the teen's question and instead asked one of her own, "A gift for Mai hmm?" She smirked teasingly.

"Uh… well… yeah." The raven-haired woman stopped and Natsuki waited for her to continue.

"I bought Mai a gift." The younger woman grinned at the driver hoping she wouldn't have to explain.

The blunette smiled an evil smile and gave Mikoto a look that said, "we've got that established, now tell me the freakin' reason why before I (insert something bad here)."

Mikoto shrunk into the vinyl racing seat, "Tomorrow's the anniversary of the day I met Mai."

Natsuki could barely hear what was said from the muffled tone but she had a clue. "You've known her for years and I haven't seen you get her anything… what makes this one any more special?" The Mai in her head was screaming at her lack of correct grammar and she shook her head, casting a brief glance toward the girl sitting beside her.

"What are you talking about?! I always get her things! I bought her that winter coat, those boots she loves, and the new set of pots…" she paused and looked out the window to her right with a blush. She forgot the gifts were supposed to be from an anonymous person.

"Oh… so that was you?" Natsuki raised a thin brow.

Mikoto just kept her golden eyes peering out of the window and ignored the newly asked question to answer the previous one. "It's been five years."

The raven-haired teen took a deep breath, "Five years since she started taking care of me—I just wanted to let her know how much _I_ cared for once…"

The blunette nodded.

"I mean she was always there for me and I never gave her anything in return!" tears started to form around the girl's yellow eyes.

Natsuki wasn't really good at these kinds of situations so she did what she thought any other person would, she laughed.

"Ah ha ha ha ha!" her laugh came out high-pitched and forced and she mentally slapped herself for sounding so stupid. "Gahaha! HAHA!" she couldn't stop herself it just kept coming, she tried to clutch her aching side.

"HAHA-whoa!" apparently laughing caused the body to move uncontrollably, causing her knee to hit the steering wheel and the car, in turn, to swerve to the left of the small street.

"That was close." The azure-haired woman grinned at the girl to her left, Mikoto's eyes were widened in fear and she was suffocating the cat that was located in her arms.

_'Crap… that didn't make it any better."_ Natsuki was certain that if she could make a big anime-style sweat drop appear on the side of her head… she'd be doing that right now.

She shut her emerald eyes and let out a cough to try and regain her composure. "Well…" she started and tried to figure out what to say to calm the other girl down, "Mai wouldn't expect you to actually _give_ her a gift… the only gift she could ever really want would be your well-being." The chef was really too kind. "Staying safe and healthy would be best gifts you could ever give her, she doesn't need anything else."

Mikoto smiled, "Thanks Natsuki, but don't ever do that again. I think I really _will_ die if you try and cheer me up again…."

The older woman blushed and huffed out, "See if I ever try and help you out again."

"Anyways, what _did_ you get Mai?"

"Oh this?" the teen pulled out a package from her bag. "It's a home karaoke system… the rest was supposed to come tomorrow, this is just the simple set so she could use it until we put it up tomorrow." She shrugged and put the object back in her bag. "I'll probably just return it and get my money back…."

"NO!! Don't do that!" Natsuki screamed out and looked toward her friend.

"But you said didn't really need any—"

"Forget that! She'll really love you if you give her that!" sure she was a little scared of her house mates having a relationship together, but she was also happy for them. Although it was mostly the fact that if Mai found out that she told Mikoto to return the karaoke system, she'd be dead or worse, be without mayo!

Mikoto silently nodded, happy for her friend's support.

"AH NATSUKI, LOOK OUT!"

The driver turned her eyes toward the road just in time to avoid the oncoming car. _'Phew… that was close.'_ She watched as the car passed.

"NATSUKI!"

"AHH!"

---

The car was rammed against a tree along the side of the small road.

The blunette steadied herself to try and remove the blurry dots in her vision.

_'Shit! Mai's gonna kill me!' _Natsuki got out the car to survey the damage. It was minor due to the fact that there were bushes lined around the tree that softened the impact.She got back into the car to see if it would still start. The roaring noise of the engine let her know that the car was fine… besides the busted fender.

"The car's fine Mikoto." She received no reply.

"Mikoto?" Natsuki turned to look at the other girl. "Shit, Mikoto!"

_'Now I really am gonna die!'_

The girl younger woman was face-first in the passenger side airbag. Her arms were wrapped protectively around the fat tabby and the gift in her lap.

"No, no, no no no! Mikoto _please_ get up!" emerald eyes were filled with worry as she tried to shake the teen awake.

"Mnn." Mikoto moaned. "I told you if you tried to help me again I'd probably die…. You really need to stop it."

Natsuki laughed at the morbid joke and pulled her house mate into her arms. "Baka."

"How can I be the stupid one… you were the one not watching the road."

"Ouch."

The raven-haired girl laughed. "I know, I know, let's just get home." She pushed the large, white lifesaving bag away.

"Okay." Natsuki looked at the arm held out to her. "What?"

"Get out, I'm driving."

She sighed. "Fine, but we have to take the car to the shop first. I'm not about to have your _girlfriend _kill me yet."

The black-haired teen blushed. "Not until you've had your date, huh?" she teased back.

The older woman's cheeks tinged pink, "H-how'd you know?" the younger woman replied by pointing the radio in the car. "Damn."

Natsuki got out of the car and handed Mikoto the keys.

---

It was a bad idea to let Mikoto drive. The girl was all over the road, but luckily there were no other cars on same street. _'How did she get her license?!'_

Somehow the two women had gotten to the garage and fixed the car without much difficulty. Meaning Mikoto barely avoided running over pedestrians and Natsuki worked on fixing and _upgrading _the car. _'Damn agreement… "You break it, you upgrade it."' _She mocked her busty friend in her mind.

"C'mon Natsuki, can't you finish putting the finishing touches on the car tomorrow? It's already 12:53 a.m.; we've been gone a lot longer than we should have and I'm tired. Plus…" the teen had a Cheshire grin on her face. "You have a date tomorrow!"

The younger girl was right. The blunette would need at least eleven hours of sleep to function properly under pressure—as in not spaz out after every word this "Viola" may say.

"Let's go then… and no word of what happened to Mai. We'll just tell her I scratched the front of her car against something." Natsuki told Mikoto—technically it was true so she wouldn't have to worry _too_ much about the carrot-haired woman finding out the lie.

"Okay, as long as you don't tell Mai about the present."

"Deal."

Hands were shaken and the two got ready to get into the car.

"Oh no you don't!" Natsuki pulled the teen away from the driver's side of the hatchback and grabbed the car keys.

"But you almost got us killed!"

"And you almost killed everyone, no every_thing_we passed!"

"Good point. No talking?" the younger girl reasoned.

"No talking." The blunette repeated.

Another problem was solved.

-xOx-

When the two women got home they found the orange-haired chef asleep on the couch and two bowls of ramen on the low wooden table—one small bowl filled with a considerable amount of mayonnaise and the other bowl which was quite large filled with… well ramen.

Natsuki and Mikoto walked to their respective meals and ate the delicious, but cold food in silence.

After the meals were eaten Natsuki did the dishes and turned up for the night, not before discreetly watching her youngest house mate gently pick up her girlfriend and carry her up to their bedroom, bridal style.

Natsuki walked up the stairs and down a small hallway, passing the guest bedroom, the small storage, and the game room/work-out room—her other house mates' room was on the other side of the hall along with the upstairs restroom (it contained no shower since the three main bedrooms did).

Her room was fairly large, not as big as Mikoto and Mai's, but not as small as the guest bedroom. The walls were painted a pale blue gradually turning a darker color, midnight blue, on the bottom. Her bed was a simple queen size one: a white, fluffy Serta mattress covered by dark blue sheets, with matching pillow cases that covered her four fluffy pillows, and a large, white mink blanket that added a nice contrast to the darker sheets. Her six-piece, bedroom set consisted of a large headboard with a mirror and shelves attached, a simple footboard, a tall armoire, a large mirror that settled on the even larger six-drawer dresser, and a small nightstand. All of the items were made of a rich mahogany, excluding the two mirrors which were made of glass and had intricate golden designs as a border.

But the thing she loved most was not her walk-in closet filled with lingerie and an assortment of other clothes, it was her ceiling. The area above her bed was a large full moon; underneath the moon was a cliff that had a large blue and grey wolf that seemed to be howling in the night sky. At the area near her bathroom, opposite her bed, was a pack of wolves; they were at the base of the cliff, separated from the lone wolf on the mountain. It had taken many months to get done, but when the artists finished it, she was amazed.

She took a ten-minute shower and changed into some black boxer shorts and a white tank top. After which she quickly towel dried her hair went to bed, she had a long day ahead of her and she needed her sleep.

Sleep came fast for the dark-haired woman despite the many things on her mind. The comfortable bed always found a way to relax and put the girl to rest.

/oXo\

Natsuki furrowed her brows and shoved her face deeper into her silk pillow case, away from the offending sunlight streaming through the half-closed blinds.

"Mm…" she grumbled after five minutes, knowing that her wanted sleep would not come again.

_'It's kind of bright… what time is it?' _she glanced toward the clock/lamp on her nightstand. _'Only 1:45 p.m.'_ she slowly placed her head back onto the pillow and relaxed.

… _'Wait… what time did I say it was…?'_ she glanced at the digital clock again, "Crap!"

The blunette jumped out of bed and into the shower—going into her closet on the way to get a black bra and matching panties.

She stripped off her clothes and turned on the water, waiting until it was the right temperature before stepping in. As the hot water rained onto her she grabbed some strawberry scented shampoo and worked it through her hair. After rinsing her hair, Natsuki applied a same smelling conditioner to her azure locks and wrapped her hair into a bun to let the conditioner marinate her mane. A melon body wash was rubbed on her body and she let down her hair and washed both substances off of herself.

When the fifteen-minute shower ended, Natsuki dried off and put on her underwear, and then she wrapped a white towel around her damp locks.

She opened her bathroom door and steam seeped into her bedroom. Still clad in only her underwear, the blue-haired teen stepped onto her carpeted floor and a few feet to the left toward her walk in closet.

She changed into some low-rise, loose-fitting denim jeans, a blue-and-white-striped, long-sleeved hoodie-shirt, and a pair of black and white, leather DVS Melody shoes.

She quickly put on Appletini lotion on her body and grabbed her cell phone, wallet, her motorcycle jacket—knowing she'd have to take her motorcycle since Mai had work and also the car—her motorcycle helmet and bounded down the stairs. She stopped at a closet on downstairs to pick up her spare bike helmet, it was a similar model to hers—full-faced with adjustable wind levers and a tribal design—except the spare was a deep, metallic-red, unlike her dark, metallic-blue.

Natsuki opened up the garage, slipped on her jacket, and put the extra helmet in the compartment under the seat before getting on her bike. The leather felt good under her rear, it felt as though it had been years since she last rode her bike, instead of the twenty-four hours she knew it was. She turned on the ignition and revved the engine to get a good feel before speeding off toward the radio station.

-xOx-

It was two twenty-three. The blunette had reached the station with a little time to spare; she went up to the receptionist for the second day in a row and asked about her date. Tomoe seemed to be busy talking to someone on the phone and threw a glare at the emerald-eyed woman in front of her.

"Can you hold on for a second?" The forest-haired woman whispered to the person she was talking to and pointed toward the elevator. "Third floor, second door on the left."

"You're not gonna show me the way?"

The receptionist rolled her eyes but picked up the phone. "Sorry babe but I gotta go." There was a pause and a noise could be heard as the person on the line replied. "Yeah, help lost souls find their way throughout the building." She gave a small chuckle. "M'kay, talk to you later… mhmm… bye."

Natsuki colored and glared at the other woman. _'Lost soul… I'll __show__ her__ a how to__ lose more than that.'_

_Ding._

The elevator opened and the two women went inside and instantly Natsuki knew the few seconds of the ride would be horrible.

Tomoe had taken off her dark sunglasses and placed them on the top of her head so Natsuki would feel her heated gaze. She had her arms crossed over her chest and leaning against the wall to the right of Natsuki, facing the blunette. Even if the pink sundress was supposed to make her look nicer, she was a demon in heels.

"What are you going to do today?"

Natsuki looked away from the elevator door to the woman standing next to her, "Eh? What do you mean?"

The green-haired woman sighed, _'I don't like her but since she won the date with Viola-sama I have to deal with it.' _"What are you going to do on your date?"

_'Crap, I forgot about that!'_ If Tomoe's stare didn't affect her before, it did now. But Natsuki didn't want the other girl to know that so she replied with four words as the elevator door opened. "I'm gonna wing it."

The metal doors began to close with Tomoe still inside, it was already too late to leave the small moving room. She growled at the blunette's retreating form and called out, "She loves tea. You'll be fine as long as she has some… and don't make her…" the doors shut completely and the elevator returned to the first floor.

"Don't make her what?" Natsuki yelled at the metal box and received no answer.

_'Gah! Why does no one let me know what I need to know?!'_

/oXo\

Natsuki sulked next to the elevator for a few minutes, she knew she couldn't just go downstairs and ask the older woman what she had said—it would be too embarrassing—so Natsuki turned around and walked down the long corridor.

_'Second door on the left…'_ The blunette walked and passed a room on her left and few rooms on her right. _'That's one. Okay so the second door should be near here.'_

Natsuki continued to walk, passing multiple doors to her right and no other doors on her left._ 'What the hell? How can there be no other doors?!' _She glanced behind herself to see if she passed the second door, _'Nope… so then where is it…?'_ she peered down the long hallway and saw a door all the way at the end of the hall. _'You have _got_ to be kidding me… there is no way one of these rooms are that big.'_ She sighed and continued her trek down the passageway.

She finally reached the door and looked back; the elevator looked like a small, shiny square at the other side of the hall. She sighed and knocked on the door labeled: Viola.

"Yes?" an accented voice answered.

Natsuki was frozen; it was as if she just noticed she was going on a date with the beautiful sounding forecaster. "Umm…" she stammered. "I-I'm Kuga Natsuki… I won the… contest." She couldn't bring herself to say date… even if that's what the prize was.

"Ah!" the woman quickly came to the door and opened it up, the sight of the woman made Natsuki's knees give out and she collapsed onto the ground.

"V-V-Viola-san…?" Natsuki's jaw hung open and she could only stare at the angel in front of her.

* * *

**Omake:**

Mikoto: Mai?

Mai: I'm in the kitchen Mikoto! –continues washing dishes-

Mikoto: Tadaima –wraps arms around Mai's waist-

Mai: Okaeri –turns and gives the younger girl a hug-

Mikoto: -leans up and kisses Mai-

Mai: AH! –gets startled and leans back, pulling Mikoto with her-

Dishes fall off of the counter and the water overflows the sink.

Mikoto: -looks down at Mai- I love you?

Mai: -soaked from the overflowing sink, glares at the girl on top of her- Yeah? Well so did the dishes that are broken on the floor! Clean up the mess and get me a damn towel!

Mikoto: -jumps up and nods, quickly cleaning up the mess and getting Mai a towel-

Naomi(author): Whoa… never mess with Mai and her cookware…

Mai: You think you can just stand there and watch?! There are dishes that are still broken! –points to said dishes-

Naomi: R-right away! –starts cleaning- Hurry Mikoto, before she brings out the spatula!

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah I'm a bitch… and the omake sucks. I know. But I really don't care (all that much) I put Viola in the chapter (very briefly) like I said I would! Even if nothing really happened… you're just lucky I didn't cut the chapter in half like I wanted to! 

Please review, it'd be much appreciated. (Even if you're just saying how fcuked up that was or something along those lines)

-naomi

Oh yeah... track season started. And I joined... so try not to expect quick updates... (or ones as long as this chapter) anytime soon. I got another story too. It's gonna be a Miko/Mai fic (AU Mikoto-centric) called "the Act of Finding". Summary's on my profile... tell me if you're interested.


	4. The Date and Viola sama

**A/N: **Okay I admit that it was pretty messed up for giving Viola two words in the last chapter. But I just needed to put her in there to make _someone _happy. The wheels are beginning to turn, so be patient and you should be in for a surprise (I hope…). Well I noticed that a few of you are curious about the first two rules… sigh… now I have to think of some. I know what I'm doing to Viola if you didn't know!! She's supposed to be OoC!

Everything from the previous chapters still applies: the warnings, the key and disclaimer (but in case I didn't mention it before… the products in this story are not owned by me!).

-**Trinity- of April beauty.** this chapter has got to be dedicated to you (sorry if it's a disappointment though)! Thank you for all of the kind words! They helped me out a lot!!

**Ryuu: **thanks for the review! Glad you liked it even if it didn't have any shiznat yet. XP! There are too few Mai/Mikoto stories. As for the Natsuki/Mai… it's more along the lines of a strong friendship.

**Swarm012 and SpiderLilies2007:** sorry for not being clearer on _which_ Shizuru the story was going to contain… but it was kind of needed. It is Natsuki Kuga… but the Shizuru is a surprise. XP!

Now I bring to you the fourth and final… okay not final… but the fourth installment of Forecast!

* * *

Chapter Four: The Date and Viola-sama 

"V-V-Viola-san…?" the blunette stuttered from the ground.

The forecaster had her long auburn tresses tied up in a tight bun and she seemed to shop at Hollister because her whole outfit came from the store—with the exception of her dark brown Gucci sunglasses and her white and silver DVS Corey shoes. Her pants were dark blue, Cali low-rise flared jeans and she wore a black Trestles beach jacket that was zipped halfway up, showing her was a white Imperial beach polo with the eagle logo on the left breast.

"A-ara…?" the Holister lover stammered. "Y-you're a f-female…" her hesitant statement sounding like a question as she took a step back.

"Only on Wednesdays… No! Wait… I mean… uh…." _'God, what am I saying?! I'm freakin' spazzing out more than a school girl at her favorite band concert.'_ The blunette sighed, "I'm sorry."

The brunette looked down at the woman who was staring sadly at the ground, "Ah! I didn't mean to… Kanin na, Kuga-han. I don't mind that you are a girl… it just surprised me."

Natsuki looked up and saw that the forecaster was crouching in front of her and offering her a hand. She gratefully took it with a small smile and a large blush.

_'Her hands are so soft… wow,__ she's just to__o__ beautif__—sweet__…__ yeah sweet__ to be real.'_ "Thanks." The blue-haired girl looked at her shoes for a couple of seconds to rid herself of the blush on her face.

"So, you uh… ready to go?" Natsuki asked the brunette when she felt her face cool down.

"Y-yes… j-just let me get my… my bag." When the shy forecaster went to retrieve her purse Natsuki took the chance to look around Viola's office.

_'Oh__. My. God__… what the freak__!'_ The office was _huge!_ There was a large enclosed area for the forecaster to tell the weather, a large wooden desk and many _many _bookcases. The room was painted a light purple color and had intricate swirls of darker violets covering the walls. There was a large window with reddish-purple curtains—that were drawn open letting an ample amount of sunlight stream in. She took another step inside and noticed a treadmill and a few other workout items along the far… far wall. And just when she thought the room couldn't surprise her any more she saw a Jacuzzi, a freaking Jacuzzi behind the radio area. _'What does this woman do in here?!'_

Natsuki sighed and looked up… there was a spear-like weapon hanging above the door. _'Okay… a naginata... I hope she doesn't know how to use it.'_

"T-that's my personal one, I-I used to be on a club in high school."

The blunette started at the voice and looked at the woman who appeared in front of her. "So you know how to use it then…?"

"Very much so, I was the captain of my team." Natsuki was surprised, she saw how the woman's mouth turned up slightly at the corner and she heard how the woman's voice became a little more confident.

"Okay…." An awkward silence engulfed the two women. Natsuki fidgeted her toes and the older woman still had a scary smirk on her face.

_Dong__. D__o__ng__. D__ong._

The noise caused both of the room's occupants to jump. Natsuki looked for the source of the noise; it was a small clock taking up a small portion of the forecaster's large desk, and the brunette shrunk back with her cheeks turning a soft pink—embarrassed that she was scared by her own clock.

In an attempt to make the forecaster more comfortable, Natsuki decided to engage in a small conversation. "So… how long have you been with Takeda?"

The other woman was surprised, "Wha… Excuse me? I-I don't know w-what you're talking about."

The emerald-eyed woman raised an eyebrow. _'What does she mean? I asked her… oh!'_ "I didn't mean it like that! I was wondering how long you've been working _with_ DJ T.K and H.I.M.E!" She sighed, _'I'm hopeless. I can't believe I won the date… I don't even know what to do!'_

"Oh! I thought you meant…" Viola's cheeks tinged.

"Haha… I'm sorry." Natsuki grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck. "I don't think he'd be lucky enough to be with you anyway."

"Ara?"

Natsuki looked up; did she just say that out loud? "N-nothing! Oh, look at the time! It's already four o'clock, we should go!" She turned and stiffly marched out of the room.

_"__She's __an interesting girl, ne… Viola?"_

The brunette only blushed and followed the younger woman out the door.

---

Natsuki tapped her foot as she stood in the elevator, the forecaster stood beside her twiddling her thumbs and looking at the ground.

_'What the hell? The elevator came up a lot faster when I was with Tomoe! Why is it taking so long….'_

"It's been three years." Came the soft and beautiful voice that broke the azure-haired girl away from her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I've been working at H.I.M.E for three years. I started in my senior year of high school, when I was eighteen." The brunette gave a small, hesitant smile to blue-haired girl.

"Oh… so you're only twenty-one?!" Natsuki exclaimed making the older woman jump slightly.

Viola nodded.

"That's just a year older than me, Viola-san!" the blunette was excited. She wouldn't have to try too hard to impress the pretty woman. _'Wait… why would I need to impress her? … __a__nd__ why did I say__ pretty? She's not pretty! She's just… beautiful… huh?! I meant-'_

The brown-haired woman began to speak before Natsuki could continue to argue with herself any longer, "Ara? You're only twenty?"

"Huh… yeah."

Another silence engulfed the two women.

_Ding._

_'Finally.' _Both elevator occupants thought as the metal box reached the ground floor and opened up.

The brunette started to lead the way out the building with Natsuki trailing behind.

As the younger woman walked behind the forecaster she tried to wave towards the receptionist. _'C'mon woman! I need an answer… look at me!' _Her not-so-inconspicuous flailing of her arms caught the eyes of the woman… just not the one that she wanted to notice her.

"Are you okay, Kuga-han?"

The blunette slowly turned toward the concerned voice. "Uh… yeah…."

Natsuki could see an eyebrow being raised over the top of the large sunglasses. _'Why wouldn't I be…' _she followed the gaze to where she thought the brunette was looking at.

_'Ack! How could I forget to put my arms back down?!'_ she ceased the movement in her limbs and quickly dropped them to her sides.

"Hahaha." Muffled laughter could be heard across the lobby.

_'Now she looks!'_ Natsuki huffed in embarrassment and stalked off toward the door. As she was about to leave she looked over her shoulder at the confused auburn-haired woman, "You coming or not?"

"Oh! I-I…" she trailed off and jogged toward the waiting blunette.

As the azure-haired girl began to turn back she saw the green-haired woman making hand signals. Natsuki was about to get angry at the mocking, until she realized that the receptionist was trying to tell her something; she read the woman's lips, "Don't do anything drastic to Viola-sama," Natsuki raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue the silent message. "She has another—"

The brunette just happened to reach her side at that exact moment, obstructing the blunette's view of the forest-haired receptionist.

"Kanin na, Kuga-han."

"Huh… oh that's okay." Natsuki nodded and opened the door for the older woman, making the brunette get small blush.

"Ookini."

This time younger girl's cheeks turned pink, "I-it was nothing."

They walked through the glass doors, and just as they were about to shut, Natsuki looked back to see that the receptionist had disappeared.

_'What the hell? Am I ever gonna get my answers?!'_

"Kuga-han?" Viola looked at the girl who was frowning and furrowing her eyebrows. Natsuki looked at the woman who called her name.

"Which way…?" the brunette answered the unasked question with one of her own.

"Oh yeah… over here."

Natsuki led the older woman to the parking lot beside the station and stopped in front of her Ducati DRIII. The brunette only stared at the vehicle in surprise.

"Ara…?"

"Ara?" the blunette copied the brunette and handed her the helmet in a compartment under the bike's seat.

"Am I supposed to ride this with you?" Viola questioned with a blush.

"Well that was the plan… unless you have another way we can get around…?" Natsuki grinned at the older woman.

The brunette shook her head.

"Okay then, hop on." Natsuki had already put on her blue helmet and was sitting on the motorcycle, waiting for the forecaster to get on.

Viola looked a little hesitant but sat behind the younger woman anyway. Natsuki started the Ducati and began to slowly drive off.

_'Where do I put my hands?'_ the forecast wondered to herself. She settled for loosely gripping the open jacket of the dark-haired woman.

The blunette began to speed up, making the older woman feel less safe. Viola tightly clutched the thin jacket of the biker, their speed was nearing seventy. Natsuki, as if feeling the forecaster's anxiety, removed one hand from the motorcycle's handle bars and grabbed one of Viola's hands and wrapped it snugly around her waist.

"Hold on to me here!" the blunette tried to call over the wind that was rushing by.

The auburn-haired woman nodded into the driver's back and scooted closer to the woman to get a better hold.

_"__She's so warm… isn't she…?__"_ Viola blushed and held the younger woman tighter_"__She smells good too….__"_

---

Natsuki pulled into a parking lot in front of a familiar restaurant. She turned off her motorcycle and waited for Viola to detach herself from her waist before holding the bike steady so the older woman could get off.

Each woman began to remove their helmets after getting off of the blue Ducati.

The brunette had removed the helmet and her once tight bun was now messy and a few strands of hair hung by her face._'Oh my god… she looks so h… h… HOT!' _Natsuki tried to refrain herself from thinking the three letter word, but to no avail. Natsuki took off her own helmet and shook her long azure tresses.

_"__Wasn't the way she took her helmet off so… sexy?" _Viola looked away from the blunette. _"Don't look away… I know you thought so too." _She shook her head and tried to look at the younger woman without blushing. It didn't work so she averted her gaze.

"Umm… so you ready Viola-san?"

"Hm?"

"You know… to go eat?"

"Oh! Y-yes I am!" the older woman stammered and the blunette smiled, leading the way to the Princess café.

_'She's so cute when she blushes.' _Natsuki stopped mid-step. _'What?!!'_

"Kuga-han?"

"N-nothing Viola-san! Let's go!" the azure-haired girl stuttered with a blush of her own as she started taking long, awkward steps toward the restaurant.

"Oh… 'kay…" mumbled the brunette to herself as she followed her date into the café.

---

"Wow, it's pretty nice in here." The forecaster said, taking in the sights of the cozy restaurant/karaoke bar.

The restaurant side of the shop wasn't that big, but it had enough room for five tables and four booths along two walls. The walls were a light reddish color that bordered the line of orange and eccentric flames of yellows, blues, and darker reds covered the tomato-colored walls. The side with the karaoke bar was slightly smaller; there were three small tables, each surrounded by two matching chairs, the stage was near the large kitchen that separated the bar from the restaurant, and it faced the few tables and multiple couches that were next to the wall.

"I told her she did a great job!" the blunette commented back.

"Her?"

"Yeah, my roommate—well housemate—is the owner of this place."

"Really?" Viola said in a surprised tone.

"Uh huh, it was her dream to open up a restaurant, and karaoke is just her thing; although she rarely gets to sing."

The forecaster nodded, "But why doesn't she get to sing?"

"You'll understand in a minute… let's go sit down." Natsuki's voice was full of praise.

Viola's ears perked up at the younger girl's tone and she narrowed her eyes; still she followed the azure-haired woman to a larger table near the kitchen that she hadn't noticed before.

"This table is reserved for friends," Natsuki smirked as she sat down, motioning for the older woman to sit down next to her.

Viola nodded and sat down in her intended seat.

A brown-haired waitress came out of the large kitchen shortly after Shizuru sat down. "Ah Natsuki-san, I didn't even realize that anyone was sitting at this table."

"Hey Akane, I didn't know you worked today…" she looked at the brunette and where she was looking at, "Oh! This is—"

"Viola-sempai!"

"Er… yeah, how'd you—"

"Higurashi-han, nice to see you." The forecaster nodded her head at the other brunette, who, in turn bowed.

"Wow! I haven't seen you switched schools…" the waitress paused to try and count the time.

"Four and a half years." The older woman finished the statement for the younger brunette.

"Yeah…"

The dark-haired woman watched the two brunettes exchange pleasantries for a few minutes, but after awhile she started to get angry at her former classmate for stealing time away from her date. So in a jealousy-induced fit, she did what she thought anyone else would do to get the attention back to her, she coughed.

Natsuki turned her head to the side and leaned down to take a deep breath, unfortunately there just happened to be a pepper shaker right under her nose. So as the long inhale was taken, bits of organic spice were shot up into her nostrils, causing her to cough—loudly and not at all subtle like she had planned.

_'Oh God…' _"COUGH COUGH!"

"Ara!" the forecaster exclaimed, startled. "Kuga-han, are you okay!"

"Chyeah!" Natsuki sneezed and coughed at the same time. "Just… cough…. Fine!"

She tried to scoot away from the comforting hand rubbing slow, relaxing circles on her back, but her sneezing and coughing made her do the opposite and she moved closer to the forecaster. _'Away, away… not closer… AWAY!'_

Since her mind and body were not exactly _one_ at the moment she ended up leaning into the forecaster's warm embrace. After a few seconds of gentle rocking, Natsuki calmed down.

_'Ah… much better…?'_Emerald orbs met the gaze of hidden eyes as Natsuki looked up from her comfortable position.

By some unexplainable force (that seems to inhabit all of my stories), Natsuki started to move closer to the forecaster. _'I don't know what I'm doing, but it feels right…'_

"Ah…" The older brunette softly moaned out, as she looked down at the oncoming face of the beauty that was pressed up against her and her face turned a dark shade of red. "Kuga… han…"

"Hm?" Was the blunette's reply as she inched closer.

"Your… your… hand…"

Natsuki's eyes were glazed and she was focused on her target—the forecaster's lips. She pushed herself closer to the auburn-haired weather teller and gripped the object she was holding to give herself a better leverage.

"Ah!" Viola moaned out deeper this time. "Ku-Kuga-han… y-your hand… it's…" she tried to get out the sentence as best as she could but the sensation was overwhelming. She threw her head back and her sunglasses flew atop her head.

The forecaster gazed at the biker with half-lidded eyes and groaned out huskily, "Kuga-han… your hand is on my breast."

Seeing blood-red orbs seemed to shock the emerald-eyed woman out of her unexplainable reverie. "What?" Natsuki's breathing quickened.

"I said," started a whisper in the blunette's ear, "your hand is grabbing my breast…."

The blue-haired woman slowly looked at the place where her hand was located and turned a deep crimson. "Uh… Uh…." She stammered.

"Don't worry… I don't mind, if you don't mind… Na-tsu-ki." The forecaster flicked the girl's ear with her tongue.

"AH!" Natsuki squealed; jumping back and removing herself from the gorgeous woman she was leaning against.

"I-I-I'M SO SORRY!" the blunette stammered from her position on the floor.

"But I told you not to worry about it, didn't I?" the brunette crawled over the two chairs until she was directly above the younger woman. "I said 'I don't mind if you don't…'" Viola purred and straddled Natsuki's waist.

"Natsuki?!" a startled voice came from behind the pair.

"M-Mai?!"

Luckily for Akane, she had gone off to get the blunette's best friend after Natsuki's coughs had died down. That left an unlucky Mai to deal with the… situation in front of her.

"Ehem… I know I said this table was reserved and had no restrictions… but I'm pretty sure you knew what it meant! I didn't think you'd take it literally…" the chef was trying to look everywhere but at the woman she was talking to.

"No! Mai, you don't understand she—"

"There's not much to understand about you and Fujino-san getting it on, on my restaurant floor!"

"That's not it, let me explain!"

"You don't need to explain… I can see what's going on _pretty_ clearly. I just don't know why you didn't tell me about it first." The carrot-head teased, crossing her arms in mock anger.

"I'm trying to tell you! I just met Viola-san today!"

"Seems to me like you've known Fujino-san for quite a while…" Mai whistled.

"No, really… I just met her today…. Wait, why do you keep calling Viola-san, 'Fujino-san?'" the blunette questioned.

"That's her name… Fujino--"

The woman they were talking about chose that moment let herself be acknowledged by slightly moving against the younger girl. She leaned down to whisper into the azure-haired girl's ear, "Ara Natsuki, did you forget I was here… or does Tokiha-san deserve more attention than your date…?"

Natsuki's breath hitched and she tried—and failed—to hold back the moan that was building in her throat. "V-Viola-san…"

"Hmm…? That's not my name… its Fujino Shizuru. Call me Shizuru."

The sultry voice echoed in her ears and she tried to think straight before she did anything _drastic_, or broke the third and only rule that she heard. _'I'm not supposed to "sexually harass" the woman… but what about __what she's doing to me__?!'_

"F-Fujino-san!" the two twenty-year-olds called out at the same time.

"Ara?"

"Could… could you please get off of Natsuki? T-this is a public place… and it's a little early to start doing _those_ things… isn't it?"

"Fufufu, I'm sorry Mai-san." The older woman let out a short, lustrous laugh. "But you don't have to worry about it that much… _anytime _and _anyplace _is fine with me—so long as it's fine with Natsuki too." She winked at the girl beneath her.

"Fu-Fu-Fujino!"

"Yes, Natsuki?"

"I-I… umm… can you… maybe get off of me? There are a lot of people around."

"No."

"B-but… why?"

"Because, I told you to call me 'Shizuru' and you keep calling me 'Fujino-san.'"

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"Fujino-san…" the brunette began to pout cutely, "I mean Shi-Shizu-ru… Shizuru."

The forecaster listened to the younger woman test her name, and the beautiful way it rolled off of her tongue. "Mmm Natsuki."

The emerald-eyed beauty blushed at the growling woman. _'Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?'_

"C-can you get off of me now…?"

"I don't wanna." Shizuru purred into her ear.

"Eh?! You said you'd get off after I called you 'Shizuru!'" Natsuki used her hands to try and keep the older woman an arm's length away from her face.

"No I didn't, I said I told you I wouldn't get off because you didn't call me Shizuru, not that I _would_ get off if you did."

"It's the same!"

"Actually it's not…."

"Mai, you're supposed to be on my side!" the orange-haired cook blushed.

"Sorry…."

Natsuki sighed.

-xOx-

Natsuki and the forecaster were now taking a stroll through a park. The blunette raised an arm to shield her face from the sun's dwindling rays until they reached the shade of a nearby oak tree. The two women sat down on a wooden bench and relaxed, both eating their own single scoop of ice cream. The small vender only had long since run out of any flavors other than strawberry and chocolate.

The blunette licked her chocolate cone slowly and watched the now timid brunette—who was eating a strawberry ice cream—out of the corner of her eye. She began to wonder how they ended up in the park.

.:FLASHBACK:.

"Fufufu." The forecaster laughed again, she leaned her head back and jumped when she felt a vibration under her thigh. "Na-tsu-ki…"

"Shizuru! No it's my phone!"

The brunette quickly looked down and saw Natsuki trying to reach into her front pocket without touching the forecaster's bottom. Shizuru's sunglasses fell off of her head and onto her nose in the process. She looked around, blinked and looked around again.

"Eep! Kuga-han you pervert!" A slap resounded and the few people looking in on the scene were surprised. Natsuki stared at the woman, still sitting on her, in shock.

"W-what?!" Natsuki stammered, confused.

"Y-you PERVERT!"

"Fu-Fujino-san, it was you who sat on me first!" Natsuki argued against the outrageous claim.

"N-no… I… 'Fujino-san?'" the forecaster stopped herself mid-sentence to ask about the name.

"Yeah, that's what you told me to call you: Fujino Shizuru." The biker raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no!" Shizuru covered her mouth in shock.

"W-what's wrong…?"

"Can I tell you later?" she whispered through her fingers.

"Yeah… but do you mind getting off for now?"

"AH! Kanin na, Kuga-han!"

The two women then ate a delectable meal made by the head chef and owner of the Princess Café. Shizuru apologized hundreds of times to the orange-haired woman, who only laughed and said told her about things that would happen on 'Karaoke Night'. The three women laughed and chatted for about an hour. When they Natsuki and Shizuru were about to take their leave, the brunette complimented the meal many times, before the blunette was finally able to pull her out of the cozy café.

.:END FLASHBACK:.

Shizuru could feel her date's eyes on her. She tried to act as thought the blunette's gaze didn't bother her, but after awhile her face began to heat up. _'Why is she staring at me anyway?'_

As if she voiced her thoughts, Natsuki answered her question.

"You have some ice cream on your cheek." She pointed to her own cheek as a guide for the forecaster to find the strawberry goodness.

"No, no, the other cheek." Natsuki watched as the brunette tried to mirror her movements and she inwardly grinned.

"A little bit higher." Natsuki touched a little higher on her own cheek.

"Here?"

"No, to the left a bit."

Shizuru furrowed her brows and tried to find the strawberry cream that was located on her cheek. It was difficult though; the other woman would keep moving her hand across her face to different areas…. _'Oh…'_ The forecaster blushed.

"That's not funny, Kuga-han!"

"Hahaha. Yes it is Viola-Fujino!"

The brunette turned a darker shade. "I'm Viola!"

"If you say so Viola-Fujino!"

Shizuru pouted. "I am Viola, Kuga-han!"

"Okay Shizuru and I am Natsuki, so call me that." Natsuki stuck out her tongue.

"Ku-Kuga…" She stopped herself at the woman's stern look. "N-Natsuki…" the woman nodded. "That was not funny!"

The emerald-eyed woman only grinned. "But you do have some ice cream on your cheek…"

Before the brunette could ask where, a finger with chocolate appeared in front of her and wiped the substance onto her face.

"Right there." Natsuki smiled innocently.

"Na-tsu-ki!" Shizuru laughed. "I see some on your face too!" She rubbed a bit of her strawberry ice cream onto the younger girl's nose.

"Ah! Shizuru!" The brown-haired woman squealed as more ice cream was placed onto her cheeks and forehead.

"Natsuki stop, you're wasting it!" the forecaster finally exclaimed after multiple exchanges of cream to each other's faces.

"I'm not wasting it." Before she realized what she was doing, Natsuki leaned forward and took a long lick on the side of Shizuru's cheek. "See?"

"…"

The younger woman's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I am so sor--"

_LICK!_

"Did you just lick me back?!"

Shizuru blushed and nodded. "Well you said it wasn't a waste that way so…"

The blunette's cheeks turned crimson. "Oh yeah… well how about we just use napkins instead?"

"Okay." The forecaster had her red eyes downcast and Natsuki felt bad.

"Shizuru…"

"Hmm…?"

"You have something right -_lick-_ here."

-xOx-

It was nine-fifteen and Natsuki was on driving Shizuru back home.

The two had spent the rest of their time riding along the beach, watching the sunset and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Overall, Natsuki was pleased with the way she handled the date.

"Which way now?" she called over the wind to the woman sitting behind her.

"After three houses make a right down the street, the one at the very end will be mine." The brunette answered in an equally loud voice.

Natsuki nodded, she didn't want to look away in case she missed the turn.

After passing the third house, Natsuki slowed down and leaned her body while turning the handlebars for a clean turn. She kept the low speed all the way down the narrow street, passing a few large houses until she reached the end of the path.

"Wow." Natsuki said to the brunette as she stopped her motorcycle next to the large house. "You live here with your family or something?"

"No, I live here with my cousin." Shizuru said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You live in a freaking mansion with your cousin?!"

"No Natsuki, this is a manor."

The blunette face-palmed at the correction. "Never mind… c'mon." She helped Shizuru off the bike and walked her to her porch.

"So umm… I guess this is goodbye? I mean since it was a date and I won it and all…" Natsuki kicked a small rock with her dark shoes.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Shizuru twiddled her fingers.

"Hey, you think maybe we can go out again?"

Shizuru looked up surprised then to the watch on her wrist. "Kanin na Natsuki, but you broke two rules, I would say all three… but I'm kind of at fault for the third one." The forecaster finished sheepishly.

"What?! Tell me what rules I broke!" the blunette had forgotten that she didn't know the first two rules.

"Well the first was that I must be home by nine—my cousin will have a fit if I'm not home by that time—and it is nine-thirty. The second rule was that you are not allowed to ask for second dates—especially if the first rule was broken. Didn't you read the contract?"

"Yeah, well no. I knew the third rule, but Takeda took the paper before I saw the first two. Why are rules so ridiculous anyway?!"

"Well the last time I went on a date with someone, the guy brought me home late and he asked me for another date. And when I tried to turn him down, he… tried to touch me. Luckily my cousin just happened to arrive home."

"Shizuru…"

"It's okay Natsuki, you did not know." The brunette smiled at the younger woman.

Natsuki smiled back at the older woman and scratched the back of her head. "Well then, goodnight Shizuru." She gave Shizuru a quick hug and turned to leave.

"Wait Natsuki!"

The biker turned around.

"I still have to explain myself to you."

Natsuki raised her eyebrows. "Do you mean now?"

Shizuru grinned. "How about over coffee…?"

Natsuki seemed to take the hint. "That'd be nice, I know a great place!"

Shizuru walked over to the azure-haired woman sitting on her bike. "It's a date then." She shyly kissed Natsuki's cheek, put the helmet on the other girl's head, and a small piece of paper into her hands.

When Natsuki finally noticed what had happened, Shizuru was waving through her door with a smile on her face.

Natsuki started her Ducati and sped off home.

_'Another date, huh?'_She thought as she put the girl's phone number in her jacket pocket. _'I wonder if there'll be more rules or not.'_

_

* * *

_

**Omake:**

Natsuki: I broke a rule?

Shizuru: Yes, in fact you broke all of them!

Natsuki: But you were the one who broke the third!

Shizuru: -takes off sunglasses- If I recall things right... Natsuki was the first to engage in intimate contact...

Natsuki: W-what?!

Shizuru: Don't you remember -whispers in Natsuki's ear- that you touched me -grabs Natsuki's hand and places it on her breast- right here.

Natsuki: -full body blush- Shi-Shizuru!!

Shizuru: Ara... is that what Natsuki sounds like when she screams my name... I wonder how else I can make her say it.

Natsuki: O.O!

Shizuru: Don't worry Natsuki, "I don't mind, if you don't mind..."

Naomi: OMG! I have GOT to GO! -runs away from the scene-

* * *

**A/N: **Okay… so there it is… well there it was. How'd you like it? You didn't…? Well forget you too!!! Lol. Jk. Okay sorry it took so long for the update… but I couldn't figure out how I wanted to write it. And I've had a few distractions I was sick (I still am a bit) and some people (you know who you are) and those who don't know -cough michi and dino cough- you were good distractions too! 

Well please review!!! The next chapter will probably have a lot of Mai/Mikoto and other characters…. I have to plan out ShizNat's "talk".

Peace!-naomi


	5. Mutuality and the Spoils System

**Disclaimer:** I don't own.

**Warnings:** Major, and I mean MAJOR OoCness this chapter, enough to make you think "WTF?" the whole time you're reading it. A lot, _A lot_ of time skips. Bad grammar. Lack of great vocabulary. Cheesy-ness. LAMENESS. And Shoujo-ai.

**A/N: **Wow, it's been like years since I last updated! Anyways, thank you all that reviewed, and I'm sorry if I never got back to you for them! I really hope that you enjoy this chapter! I also apologise, I took WAY too long to update this story, but it's really long, so I hope you forgive me!

Oh and in case you were wondering, _"Jiji" _means grandfather, and _"Aniue"_ means brother in Japanese.

* * *

Chapter Five: _Mutuality and the Spoils System_

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Click._

The carrot-haired woman shut off the annoying beep coming from her nightstand. She then looked over at the clock blaring numbers. _'Ugh, 7:45, I've gotta open the restaurant in two hours.'_

Mai made a move as if she were about to roll off of her bed, but the weight on her chest prevented her from doing so. It was at that moment that she realized she was in her room._ 'Huh?' _she tried to remember last night's events. _'I swear I fell asleep waiting for Mikoto and Natsuki to come home, then how did…?'_ Her thoughts trailed off as she felt the weight on her chest shuffle to get more comfortable.

'_Mikoto,' _Mai glanced down lovingly at the younger girl, _'She must've carried me up here.' _

Mai ran a hand through her girlfriend's hair. Mikoto sighed and rubbed her face on the soft pillows she was laying on.

"Gasp!" Mai tried not to be effected by the position they were in, after all, Mikoto has slept this way many times before.

"Then why does it feel so… different." The chef thought aloud with a blush, she just barely stopped herself from saying _good_ instead of _different_.

The busty woman slowly tried to extract herself from the sleeping woman on top of her. But after a few minutes of soft struggling she gave up—the younger woman's grip was so strong, it seemed as though she'd die if she were to let go.

"Ah Mikoto, what am I going to do with you." Mai said softly and poked Mikoto's back softly. Mikoto squirmed a bit and rolled off of the comfortable "pillows" and away from the offending finger.

'_That did not_ _just happen, that one poke did not_ _just make her get off.' _The carrot-head rolled her eyes sarcastically, and shook her head in half amusement and half frustration and glanced at the clock. Somehow the time had flown by a lot quicker than she had thought and it was now 8:40.

Mai sighed and got out of bed to get ready for work.

After showering Mai changed into a pair of faded blue jeans and a pale blue t-shirt that had the words "Kiss the Chef" underneath a baby bear with a chef cap on its head. When she was finished changing, she walked over to the sleeping female on the bed and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm off to work Mikoto." Mai called out softly as she was leaving the room.

The chef walked downstairs and pulled her apron and a pair of white K-Swiss out of a closet. She slipped on her shoes, grabbed her purse, and made her way to the garage.

_Beep beep. _

The car made a soft beep after Mai remotely unlocked it and she drove it out of the garage and to the café.

-xOx-

The drive to the café was completely uneventful. Mai had arrived without a hitch and got things started in the restaurant section so that she could open up the shop. While she readying the kitchen, a couple of waitresses came in to start off their shift: Akane Higurashi and Alyssa Searrs.

"Mai, me and the new waitress are going to open up the café, okay?" Akane called out to the chef/café owner.

"Oh sure, but after that, bring her back here—I want to get to see who this addition to the team will be." The carrot head laughed as she began preparing meals for the regulars she knew would come.

"Sure!" the brunette replied back, and began to show the younger waitress how to open up the shop.

A ding sounded and the Akane looked over at the door to see who had arrived. "Ah, Miyu-san!"

Alyssa looked up from her task of opening the windows and glanced at the silver-haired woman that walked in. "Miyu…?" her voice was hesitant, as if she didn't believe the figure she was seeing was real. The pair had separated on bad terms and the blonde hadn't seen her older companion for nearly three years.

Miyu looked over at Alyssa, and then turned her head towards Akane, "Good morning, Higurashi-san, I'll have the usual."

'_The usual?' _Alyssa thought confused, _'Has Miyu really been coming to this establishment for that long?'_ Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the brunette's question.

"I assume you'll want your regular seat?"

"If that's possible, yes," Miyu replied back with a small smile. It was their usual conversation, and she knew she would always have her seat and her meal. In truth, she could probably walk into the restaurant and sit down in her favorite window seat without a word to any waitress/hostess and expect to have her meal in less than five minutes—even if the café was crowded.

Just as the brunette was about to lead the other woman to her chair, another group of regulars came into the café for breakfast. "I'm sorry, Miyu, but I have to handle this… oh!" Akane looked back at the blonde newcomer, who had just opened the blinds to all the windows, and smiled. "Alyssa-chan! Would you show please Miyu-san to her table?" Without waiting for an answer the brunette turned to the other customers.

"Um, I don't think… okay." The blonde finished softly to herself, having found out that the other waitress was no longer paying any attention to her. "Right this way, Miyu… san."

Miyu looked surprised for a second after hearing the added honorific, but quickly pushed it aside. "Alyssa-sama?" the silver-haired woman waited for her waitress to look up at her. "My table is the other way." And with those last six words, Miyu led the waitress to her table.

She didn't know when it happened, but sometime in the past two years or so, she had acquired a few of her family's trademark traits. The main one being easily susceptible to blushes, another would be quick mood swings; but that didn't matter at the moment, what did matter was her trying to hide the blush on her face. And she did it in a way she knew her older sister would, she turned her head and glared menacingly at something—or someone depending on what's available—until she could feel the wave of heat disappear from her cheeks.

"Well, Miyu-san, can I take your order?" the eighteen-year-old waitress asked the woman who was three years her senior.

"No."

Alyssa had pulled out a small pad and paper from her apron's pocket and stared confusingly at the woman sitting down. "What?"

"You _can_ but I would rather you not." The silver-haired woman replied shortly.

"But why…?" Alyssa was confused. She knew that the day of her graduation and the events that occurred with the woman in front of her were a bit… unsettling, but she couldn't figure out why one of the people she had considered to be her best friend held so much animosity towards her.

"Differences of opinion, or rather, differences of feelings," Miyu stated. "As I recall, you told me that you 'wanted nothing to do with me.'"

The blonde simply gaped at her former friend and bodyguard. She didn't know that saying something like that would completely ruin their friendship. _'Wait, how could I not "I want nothing to do with you" doesn't exactly sound like "let's be friends forever!'_ Alyssa sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry; I didn't mean what I said. I've been regretting what I've told you for months, years even." Alyssa tried to find the other woman's gaze, but it was being avoided. She took a deep breath, "I was so surprised, and I didn't know what to do! I only _just _graduated, I only _just_ 

turned sixteen; I've barely even lived my life! You confessed to me all of a sudden and I wondered if I would ever be able to get myself into a _real _relationship!"

"You could've had one with me…" Miyu mumbled softly.

"Yes, I know, but that's why I was afraid!" Alyssa was raising her voice and she knew it so she took another deep breath. "Miyu, I wanted to be with you more than anything. But I know that if I'm with you, it'll be for real. No screw ups, no faulty dates, no extremely embarrassing mishaps; it'd be completely real, Miyu. This…" she pointed between Miyu and herself. "This would be forever, that much I know is true." She laughed softly. "I just wanted to be able to mess up and not hurt as badly as I would if I hurt you. Besides, it would let me get the thought of _maybe_ wanting someone, other than you, out of my system—and well, after these two years without you, it has." Alyssa smiled down hopefully at the woman sitting down.

Miyu was silent for a few seconds, looked at the blonde who was very mature for her age, and then the corners of her lips turned up in a barely noticeable smile. "Tell Mai-san I want the usual, but scrambled this time, and coffee instead of tea."

The blonde grinned and jotted down the order; practically skipping as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Here you go, Tokiha-san!"

"Please," Mai started without looking at the speaker. "Call me Mai." She grinned and finished preparing the next meal before looking at the waitress in front of her. "Eh! You're _that_ Alyssa-chan?!"

-xOx-

Sunlight streamed in through the open blinds and the raven-haired girl turned over to keep the offending beam of light off of her face. But as she continued turning, the light just kept getting brighter; and since rolling _that_ way caused the light to get brighter, the logical thought in her head said that rolling the _other_ way would keep the light out.

So Mikoto rolled, and sure enough, the light had disappeared. Though the only problem with that was, she had rolled off of the bed and was now completely awake and _underneath_ her bed.

She groaned, _'Might as well get up now.'_ Mikoto yawned and crawled out from under the large bed before gazing at the clock on her nightstand. _'What?! It's already 1:45 p.m.? I've got to make reservations and buy Mai that dress she wanted!'_

Mikoto ran into her bathroom, grabbing a towel along the way, and took a quick shower. After fifteen minutes of scrubbing and washing, Mikoto dried off and looked around her room for some clothes.

'_Ah, Mai, why do you keep rearranging the room?'_ the raven-haired girl questioned herself as she looked for her dresser. She spotted it on the far wall next to her closet—it was originally next to the bathroom.

Mikoto walked over to her dresser and pulled out some clothes. She had already put on white panties that had a picture of a cat's head on the front and a matching bra that said "ME" on one breast and "OW" on the other—Natsuki was very good at finding lingerie. Mikoto went to her third drawer and pulled out a pair of blue plaid Bermuda shorts and put them on. In the second drawer she pulled out a long-sleeved, tight fitting shirt and also grabbed a dark blue t-shirt with a cute tiger in the front; after she slipped both shirts on she pushed the sleeves of the long-sleeved shirt up to her elbows. In the top drawer Mikoto pulled out a pair of long, thin white knee socks and put them on.

After she was finished changing she ran out of the room, slid down the hall, and jumped down the stairs. When she reached the bottom she glanced around for a note from the busty carrot-top. Sure enough, there was a note in front of the microwave.

"_Mikoto and Natsuki,  
I'm off to work but I made you some lunch since I know you guys won't be up before noon. :P It's in the fridge in case you're wondering. I get off work at 5 so I'll be home around 5:30.  
Don't forget to warm up the food first!  
-Mai _"

Mikoto grinned. She was grateful that Mai was so kind. Well, it was either that or she was afraid that one of her dark-haired house mates would burn down the house; but for whatever reason it may be, Mikoto was happy Mai cared for them.

The raven-haired teen rummaged around the fridge trying to find the meal; after she found it she placed the plate into the microwave and let it reheat. She stood with her hands on her cheeks, leaning towards the microwave to watch her meal heat up. But then, there was a spark.

'_Huh?'_

And another.

'_Why is it doing that…?'_

And a few more.

'_Oh, the foil!'_ Mikoto removed the aluminum covering off of the plate and stuck it back in the microwave. _'How could I forget that? Mai _always_ reminds me to check for those kinds of things!'_ She laughed to herself. _'Wow, I would be really lost without her…'_

With the meal finished heating, Mikoto hurried up and dug in, completely forgetting the fact that she was supposed to share with Natsuki until there was only a small piece of chicken left.

'_Whoops, I hope Natsuki doesn't get hungry…'_ Her thoughts trailed off as she spotted the time. "Already 2:15?" she asked herself aloud. "I've got to get going!"

Mikoto grabbed her favorite pair of black and white Etnies, and her black and red backpack and ran out the door. She looked around suspiciously before running around to her backyard and into a small shed. It was where Natsuki kept all of the mechanical equipment she brought home and the yard tools; it was also where they stored a huge secret.

Mikoto put in the code for the lock and rushed inside, there was _her_ baby, a black and red Piaggio FLY150 scooter. Natsuki had given it to her for her eighteenth birthday. She was hesitant of the gift at first since she knew that Mai definitely didn't approve of Natsuki's motorcycle, but when the older woman assured her that the scooter was much safer than a motorcycle, she jumped for joy. The only thing was that she decided to hide it from the orange-haired chef, because even if it was a bit safer, Mai would become her overprotective self and ban her from riding it—which is why it stayed in the large shed.

Mikoto grabbed her matching black and red, full-face helmet—Natsuki told her that she would shoot her if she saw the younger girl wearing a pathetic open-face helmet that those Harley riders wore—and put it on. She stuck her keys in the ignition and rode down the ramp and then pressed a button on her scooter that automatically closed the door. Mikoto grinned; Natsuki could be so handy sometimes.

The raven-haired teen rode off the shop that Mai often shopped at to pick up the girl's dress, as well as her own outfit. They would both need them, seeing as the place they were going to was definitely sophisticated. Speaking of which, she still needed to make the reservations.

Mikoto sighed; she vowed to do it after she picked up the clothes.

--

"Thanks for giving me the ride, Midori!"

"It's fine, anything for my little niece." Midori grinned and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Ack! Midori, what are you doing!" the girl straightened out her hair. "You know we're at Mashiro-chan's! Why would you do this?"

The school teacher mumbled a soft, "Because it's fun," under her breath.

"Whatever." The younger girl sighed and began to walk towards the large house.

"Ah wait, Arika-chan!" the orange-haired teen looked back. "You forgot your water bottle!" she handed the girl the bottle and waved as the teen ran back to the door. "Call me if you need a ride back!" After that was said, she sped off to pick up her favorite nurse.

--

"Oh, so you've been living with your cousin?"

"Yeah, she's really nice to me… just don't tell anyone I said that. She'd have a fit!"

The busty chef laughed. "I get it, that's just like Natsuki!"

The blonde teen chuckled softly, "You know, it's pretty surprising how similar they are and how different me and my sister are. It's like it should actually be the opposite."

Mai noticed the change of tone in the other girl's voice and placed a comforting hand over the girl's. "That's not true, Alyssa-chan, Natsuki cares for _both_ of you… she just doesn't show it very well. In fact, remember when you graduated and you were feeling… bad?" the blonde nodded. "Well, your sister was the one who was secretly bringing you those presents." Mai watched how the teen's eyes widened, "Yup, it's true, but she… oops!" the chef scratched the back of her head embarrassingly.

"What…?" Alyssa asked confusedly.

"Well, I wasn't supposed to tell you that. You know, it'd ruin Natsuki's tough 'I don't care' attitude." Mai laughed. "Even if we all know she's a softy at heart."

Alyssa grinned, "Thanks, Mai."

The older woman shrugged, "For what?"

Alyssa shook her head and made her way out of the kitchen. She looked around for the silver-haired woman, but frowned when she saw that she had disappeared. She sighed and made her way to the table that Miyu had been sitting at to clean up the table.

"What's this?" the blonde asked herself out loud as she picked up a napkin underneath her tip. She smiled brightly as she looked over the paper.

Akane watched as the blonde's expression changed from happy to sad to extremely happy all within ten seconds and crept behind the girl to see why she was feeling that way. She read the object the girl was holding, "Call me, 552-01XX." She grinned to herself and walked away from the beaming blonde.

/oXo\

Akane walked out of the kitchen and saw a familiar blunette sitting at the reserved table. "Ah Natsuki-san, I didn't even realize that anyone was sitting at this table." Akane smiled and looked at the pair who was sitting at the table.

"Hey Akane, I didn't know you worked today… Oh! This is—"

"Viola-senpai!" Akane interrupted, having figured out where she had seen the other woman before.

"Higurashi-han, nice to see you." The brunettes nodded at each other.

"Wow! I haven't seen you since you switched schools…" Akane trailed off trying to count the time.

"Four and a half years ago." Akane grinned sheepishly after the other woman finished her statement.

"So, how have you been, Viola-senpai?"

Shizuru smiled, "Well, I've been good; I work at the H.I.M.E radio station now."

Akane gaped; "No way, you're _that_ Viola?" the other brunette nodded. "Well that means…" she looked over at the blunette just in time to see her start her coughing fit.

"Ara, Kuga-han! Are you okay?" Shizuru smiled apologetically at her former classmate and quickly went to tending to the coughing female.

'_Hm, so Natsuki was the one who won the date.'_

"Excuse me, waitress?" a voice broke Akane from her thoughts.

"I'll be right there, sir!" she ran towards the man and let the two women do whatever it was they were doing.

--

Mai finished cooking a meal and placed it on the side for one of her waitresses to pick up, and went to go see her housemate after she saw that blunette had sat down at the reserved table.

What she walked out to see was definitely not what she expected.

"Natsuki?!" the chef could barely believe the scene in front of her. She cleared her throat after she heard the other girl call out her name. "Ehem… I know I said that this table was reserved and had no restrictions, but I was pretty sure you knew what that meant! I didn't think you'd take it literally…" Mai averted her gaze and tried not to look at the pair on the ground. It wasn't that she didn't accept Fujino's and Natsuki's relationship, it's just, she wished they would take it to more _private_ places if they were going to do _that._

After a bit more of her _friendly teasing_ she brought the couple their meals and the three females chatted for a while.

Mai sighed; she was finally off her shift. She relaxed a bit as the next cook walked through the door; it was her brother's girlfriend, Akira. One usually expects the "second chef in command" to be her brother, but that was not the truth. The extraordinary cooking skill _did _run in their family, but Takumi only took on the dessert side. Akira on the other hand was exceptional at making all other meals; together they made a great team. In fact, Akira's meals were so good that they actually rivaled the busty chef's!

'_Of course mine are better,' _Mai thought conceitedly, but it was true, still she was glad for the ninja's help. She chuckled softly; she never would've guessed that a ninja would've been so good at cooking. _'Then again, you should never judge a book by its cover.'_

The head chef shook herself out of her thoughts and grinned at the younger chef. Mai gave a "Hello," "Good luck," and "Goodbye," to the other chef. As she left the kitchen, a figure ran into her.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" the figure looked up. "Oh, oneesan!"

"Hey, Takumi." She smiled warmly and gave him a hug. "Well, I'm off, I'll see you later!" she gave a small push to the dessert chef towards the kitchen and waved goodbye.

"Mai-san!"

The busty woman stopped, "Yes?" she looked around to see who had called her name, it was Akane. The brunette was waving at her from a few tables away.

"Mikoto gave me this and told me to give it to you when you leave." Akane handed her a gift bag. "She said not to open it—well see what's inside—until you get home." She added when Mai began to move the paper that was covering the gift.

Mai sighed, "Fine, fine, I'll wait!" She grinned and gave thanks before leaving the café and making her way home.

-xOx-

A never-aging redhead sped down the highway in her red convertible.

"So you didn't even notice the whole time you were here?" the black-haired woman yelled at the redhead.

"I didn't think to check!" the redhead replied back.

"But you're _always_ drinking!" the nurse countered.

"Aw, Yohko!" Midori whined. "You were the one who told me _not to_ drink _and_ drive, so I waited until I got to your house!"

Yohko sighed, "And you chose _this_ time to listen to me?"

"Um, I had to start sometime…?" Midori tried hesitantly.

"Agh! Just hurry up and get us there!" the nurse ground out exasperatedly. "Do you have any clue what they might be doing?"

"Arika-chan mentioned something about a swimming… why?"

"Because," Yohko started, "If there was a chance that she _did_ drink it, we need to know if she was in any danger!"

Midori made an "Oh" face. "But I don't think that Akira-chan would even do that, besides, she knows what vodka tastes like." Yohko looked questioningly at her, but the redhead ignored it. "I'm sure she would put down the bottle as soon as she tastes it."

"I hope you're right…" the black-haired woman looked out the window with a sigh.

"Me too." The driver mumbled softly to herself.

-xOx-

Mikoto had bought the clothes, made the reservations and brought the Mai's dress to the café. At the moment she was at home getting ready to go to a fancy restaurant with a beautiful orange-haired chef.

Mikoto paced around in the guest bedroom—she didn't want Mai to see her until they were at the restaurant—as she went over her a mental to-do list. _'Make reservations: check. Bring dress to the café: check. Put scooter away: check. Shower: check. Change clothes: check. Feed cat: che… wait.'_ Mikoto's eyes widened in horror, she had forgotten to feed Jubei! If she just went downstairs and fed him quickly, there would be no problem.

Mikoto opened the door to the guest room and slowly began her descent down the stairs. Then her ears picked up the distinct sound of Mai's car coming up the driveway. _'Oh no, she'll see me!'_ The teen rushed back up the stairs and slammed the door of the guest room behind her. _'I'll just have to wait until she gets changed. I hope she doesn't take _too_ long.'_

--

Mai was sitting in her room with her gift in her lap. She slowly reached into the bag to take the object out. Noticing the item's feel as she took it out of the gift bag, Mai could only widen her eyes in surprise. _'She didn't…'_

As soon as the dress was completely out of the bag, Mai felt a tear fall from her eyes and drop onto the silky fabric. The redhead laughed softly, she didn't even know that the raven-haired teen knew about the dress. After all, how could she—it was the _only_ thing she had ever asked her 

blonde haired ex to buy. _'But he didn't…'_ Mai silently added. Yet the younger girl knew that she wanted it and bought it for her without her even for it; just because she wanted to.

The chef wiped her eyes and stood up to hold the dress against her body. _'It's perfect,'_ she thought. Even the dress at the store wasn't the correct size. She guessed that Mikoto had gone to a tailor to get the outfit fixed.

She looked into the full-length mirror next to her dresser and saw that there was a note attached to the dress.

"_Get ready and put the dress on, and when you're finished go downstairs and put the blindfold on.  
Remember, don't take too long! –Mikoto"_

Mai smiled and made her way to the bathroom to get ready.

--

Mikoto sighed as she heard the shower come on in the room next door. She crept out of the guest room and hopped silently down the stairs to feed her cat as quickly as she could.

When she arrived at the kitchen she looked around for the feline's food dish.

"Jubei," Mikoto hissed, "Where'd you put your bowl!" She crawled around the ground, albeit carefully so as to not mess up her outfit, as she looked for the cat's dish.

Standing up from her prior position, she rotated her neck; it had been craned so she could look under large objects. As she turned her head, she saw the bowl on top of the fridge.

"How the _hell_ did it get up there?" Mikoto shook her head and grabbed the bowl before filling it with food. She reached up again to grab the water bowl… only to find out that she missed. Mikoto looked up.

"Oh come _on!" _she sighed and began searching for the other bowl.

Fifteen minutes later she found it, behind the entertainment center, between unruly batches of wires. She quickly filled the dish with water and hid behind a wall because she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Mikoto, with her mouth agape, could only stare as the orange-haired woman appeared from behind the wall of the stairs.

Although she had seen the dress on the mannequin at the store, it was nothing compared to seeing it on the woman it was on now. The sleek, silk red dress just barely came mid-thigh to the busty woman and accentuated all of the woman's fine curves, and the heels, the three-inch, fiery red heels matched the outfit and helped Mai's long, smooth legs stand out more than they already 

were. Her now long hair was curled and hanging down to the middle of her back. To her, Mai looked absolutely stunning and definitely breathtaking.

If Mikoto wasn't even half as prepared as she was for seeing the other woman, she probably would've collapsed at the marvelous beauty that is Tokiha Mai. But luckily enough, she was prepared, and it still came as a surprise.

She shook herself out of her reverie as the other woman put on the velvet blindfold that was conveniently placed on the kitchen counter. Slowly, and as quietly as she could, Mikoto walked behind the other woman—while still admiring the view of her—and hugged her from behind.

"You look so beautiful, Mai."

Mai jumped out of surprise, but relaxed and held the arms that were around her waist. "Thank you, Mikoto," she smiled fondly at the younger woman behind her.

"Mm," the teen nodded and removed herself from the hug. "Let's go, we gotta be somewhere in fifteen minutes." She pulled Mai's hand and led her to the garage. "You don't mind if we take your car, right?"

"Do you have another way to get there?" Mai smirked.

"No, well actually I do, but I don't want you to mess up your dress." Mikoto nodded to emphasize her words but realized the other girl couldn't see it. "Never mind, can I just have your keys, Mai?"

"You can borrow them…"

"Mai!" Mikoto whined, "You know what I mean! C'mon, we're going to be late!"

Having acquired the keys, Mikoto led Mai to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her to get in. She then made her way to the driver's side and started the car.

"Natsuki says that I could kill people when I drive," she gave a feral grin—forgetting once again that the other woman couldn't see her—and Mai took a sharp intake of breath. "But you shouldn't worry about that, I know what I'm doing."

Mai had never been so terrified of driving her whole life, and she'd been in the car with Midori and Natsuki, but when Mikoto backed out of the driveway and went to… the place they were going, she felt strangely at ease. Mikoto was driving so very carefully—almost as if Mai were a delicate flower that would break from sudden movements—and stopped shortly at a place nearly ten minutes later.

"Where are we?" Mai asked, still blindfolded.

"Ah, madam," Mikoto said in a faux-French accent while opening the door, "That eez but a surprise."

Mai laughed and allowed Mikoto to lead her into the building.

-xOx-

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Arika-chan, open the door!" the school teacher yelled and continued banging.

No answer.

"Mashiro-san, could you please open the door?" the nurse tried this time.

Still no reply.

"Ah, screw it!" Midori kicked the door open and grinned at her companion while holding up a peace sign. "Got it!"

Yohko looked between the redhead and the door and decided not to burst the other woman's bubble. So what if the door was unlocked?

"Good, now we have to find Arika-chan and Mashiro-san."

The two women searched all sixteen rooms of the three-story mansion—twenty-six if you include the bathrooms, the basement and the kitchen—and collapsed onto one of the many fine couches in the living room, out of luck.

"Where the hell could they be?" Midori growled out angrily.

_Splash._

"Wait, didn't you say something about swimming…?" Yohko nearly groaned.

"Oh yeah," the redhead sighed and stood up, reaching her hand out to help the other woman to her feet. "I wish we checked out there first."

Yohko only nodded as they walked slowly to the large backyard.

"Oh my…" Yohko started only to have the statement finished by Midori.

"Fuckin' gawd."

There were two females making out on the tiled floor, their heads only hidden by the large Jacuzzi they were next to. A _close_ inspection would show an empty water bottle that was thrown carelessly to the ground; and a _closer_ inspection showed one of said females to be topless; and an 

_even closer_ inspection—from the movement by the two girls—showed a flash of orange hair, the topless female was Arika.

"Wow, your niece has a nice—"

"Shut up!" Midori turned away from the scene. "I still can't believe she _drank_ it!"

"I know," Yohko replied solemnly, still looking at the two girls. "But don't worry it gave me a chance to see Arika's nice—"

"Yohko!"

"But really, she does."

Midori grabbed the black-haired woman's arm and dragged her away. "C'mon, you can think about that when you're not with me. Besides," she smirked at the woman in her grasp. "You owe me fifty dollars and a date!"

"Aw, that's not even fair! She's your niece, of course you would've known!"

--

The raven-haired teen led the busty beauty to the table she had reserved. She pulled out the older female's chair and helped her sit in it before pushing it in.

"You can take the blindfold off now," Mikoto gently squeezed Mai's hand. She stood next to the orange-head, having yet to sit down; she wanted to let Mai have a look at her before the table would obstruct her view.

It was Mai's turn to gape; Mikoto had definitely cleaned herself up for this event—she still wondered the importance of this certain day. Although the she was certain the outfit Mikoto was wearing at the moment would never have been on the teen, had she not matured, but now that she had, she looked marvelous.

Mikoto had opted for black and grey pinstriped slacks; a grey embroidered vest—that Mai noticed was completely black on back—over a white, long-sleeved blouse, in which the sleeves were folded halfway up her forearms; a deep red tie that matched the color her date's wonderful dress; her now shoulder-length hair was hanging straight down—and without the braids, having multiple strands of hair touch her shoulders on each side instead—with unruly bangs parted to the right of her face; and to top it all off, she wore a black fedora with a light grey band.

"Wow." The redhead had finally gotten out the three letter word after pretending to be a fish for a couple of minutes.

"Thanks," Mikoto grinned sheepishly.

Mai smiled back then looked towards a large gift bag that sat in front of her. "What's this?"

"I'm not sure," Mikoto replied feigning ignorance. "Why don't you check and see what it is?"

The orange-haired beauty reached for the bag, only to be stopped by a gentle grab at her wrist. "I meant, after dinner."

"Dinner?" the chef finally took in her surroundings. It was one of the most luxurious restaurants in all of Fuuka: _Le Lieu. _It was a French establishment whose name meant "The Place," and despite the weird name, only the best of the best could get into the fancy restaurant. "Mikoto, how… how did you…?"

"Mai, I do have a job." Mai's wide eyes widened even further and Mikoto sighed and told the woman the real reason. "Aniue owns this place. Well, he and I both do…" The other woman's eyes looked as though they were going to explode out of their sockets so Mikoto had to continue explaining.

"My jiji owned this place with another man, and when that man died, Jiji gained control of the whole place. When Jiji died, he left the place to me and Aniue. I had to wait until I was eighteen to get some ownership though; Aniue was already eighteen when jiji died so he started working here while he was at college."

Mai finally closed her eyes and nodded, taking the time to digest the information she had just received. "That's great! I don't know what to say, but I always wanted to eat here—I'm sure that every cook has!"

Mikoto smiled, "I thought you might want to eat here, after all, you do deserve to have someone cook for you every once and a while."

The busty woman blushed in her seat, not knowing what to say to that; luckily she was saved when the waiter came to take their orders.

Soon their meals came out and they chatted enthusiastically with each other. When they were nearly finished eating, Mikoto looked at the gift bag on the table. "Mai, why don' chu ope' ittup?" she asked, her mouth full of food.

"Huh?" Mai asked, confused.

Mikoto swallowed the food she was chewing and nodded at the gift, "Why don't you open it up now?"

"Oh," the chef laughed. "That, okay."

Mai reached for the bag and looked inside. There seemed to be some type of jewelry box inside as well as another, larger box that was separately wrapped. Mai pulled out the jewelry box and opened it up, there was a note on tapped on the top.

"_Mai,  
Happy Fifth Anniversary of me knowing you, and well, you taking care of me. You always ask for nothing, yet you keep on giving. I always wished I could give you something in return, so here it is, that dress, this dinner, everything, today is dedicated to you. I hope you like it.  
-Mikoto  
P.S. When you get finished reading this, do you think you can look up at me?"_

Mai looked up at the teen who was sitting across from her, but she was no longer there. She turned her head to the right and was met with a kiss. She was taken by surprise but soon responded; she was so caught up with the lip-lock that she didn't even notice that the jewelry box had been taken from her hands.

When the kiss ended Mai slowly opened her lilac eyes to stare into Mikoto's golden ones, and yet again, the teen had disappeared. A soft pull on her hands told her to look down though, and she did. Mikoto was kneeling on the ground with the open jewelry box. Inside the box was a bracelet that she assumed to be silver with a numerous amounts of rubies embedded in it.

"Mai, I wanted to ask you right. I wanted to make sure I… we knew what this is." She pulled out the bracelet and opened it up, ready to place it on the older female's wrist. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Mai smiled widely at the question and muttered a quick, "Of course," before pulling the other girl up for a kiss. She didn't even care that it was a public establishment, Mikoto was finally her girlfriend and she was sure of it. Nothing else mattered.

After the second kiss, Mikoto did something very… Mikoto-like, she yawned and declared that they were going home because she was sleepy. Mai laughed, said, "Hai hai," and they picked up the other unopened gift and left the restaurant; after Mikoto finished paying for their meals of course.

"So what's the other gift then?" Mai asked after she had gotten into the driver's seat of her "baby."

"Maybe you should just open it tomorrow morning," she was tired and she'd want sleep after all.

"Why?" came the unexpected question.

"Too many surprises in one day, y'know?"

"Yeah," Mai nodded while looking at the road. "Oh yeah, Mikoto." She turned her head toward the passenger.

"Mm?"

"That's a really nice outfit. Have you been planning this for days? And this bracelet, I mean its silver, but it still looks like it costs a fortune."

Mikoto had been turning redder and redder as Mai continued to make comments. "Uh, well… the gift in the bag and that dress are the only things I really planned." Mai looked shocked at the declaration. "Yeah, I only made the reservations today."

"But that doesn't explain the clothes…"

"Oh, Chie and Aoi own the shop that I got your dressed tailored at. That's why I didn't really need your measurements." Mikoto replied sheepishly.

Mai laughed and said, "Aoi told me that 'Chie's eyes can tell a woman's measurements from a mile away.'"

Mikoto nodded and continued speaking, "And that's also the place I got my clothes."

Mai's eyes widened in realization, "Chie told you what to wear."

Mikoto grinned, "But the bracelet was Aoi's idea. Oh and before I forget, Aoi told me to tell you that the bracelet isn't silver, but white gold."

Mai gaped at the younger woman. "So you're saying you did _all_ this, for me?" Mikoto nodded. "Wow." Mai pulled into their driveway and looked away as soon as she parked the car to give the younger girl a kiss on the cheek. "You know," she began, whispering. "Even if I didn't get _all _of this, just being with you would've been thanks enough."

Mikoto started laughing, and it wasn't a soft chuckle or anything of the sort, it was a loud bellow. "No way!" Mai watched the girl with a confused expression. "That's what Natsuki said! Wow, I didn't believe her at first either!"

Mai joined in on the laughter. If blue-haired biker had been nearby she would've questioned them on why they always laugh when she's right.

--

At exactly midnight, a figure walked into the room with the two occupants—who were now officially a couple—and placed a large box on the ground next to the younger woman. The box was wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper and had stickers with cats all over it.

After the figure put the present on the ground, it ruffled the young woman's long hair, and left the room.

The only sounds that disturbed the silence were the steady breathings of the females, the soft click of the door as it closed and muttering of three words.

"Happy birthday, Mikoto."

* * *

**Omake: **It's gettin' hot in here...

Arika: Mashiro-chan -.:takes another sip of water:.- is it me, or is it hot in here?

Mashiro: Well, how about we hang out by the pool then? You brought your suit right? -.:holds Arika's hand and leads her outside:.-

Arika: -.:nods and slowly begins to take off clothes to show bikini:.-

Mashiro: O-okay... -.:tries to look away while Arika strips:.-

Arika: Massshiro-chan... why aren't you looking at me? -.:slurs:.- I jus' want you to look at me

Mashiro: Um, A-Arika-chan? Why... why aren't you wearing your bikini top? -.:looks at bubbling water bottle suspiciously:.- What are you drinking?

Arika: I jus' want you to look at me. -.:turns Mashiro's head towards her:.- At me... -.:takes a sip of the water and kisses Mashiro deeply:.-

Mashiro: Arika! That's alcohol! -.:smells drink and takes a sip:.- Strong alcohol... Vodka... -.:shrugs takes a deep gulp:.- C'mere... ssexy

Arika: Massshiro-chaan -.:pulls Mashiro into the Jacuzzi:.-

-Five Minutes Later-

Arika: -.:breaks kiss:.- It'ss... it'ss kinna hawt in hur.

Mashiro: -.:pulls Arika out of the Jacuzzi and onto the ground on top of her:.- Ss... sshuttup. Kissss me, dammit.

-Five Minutes Later-

Yohko: Oh my...

Midori: Fuckin' gawd

* * *

**A/N:** I'm hoping there weren't too many errors in this, but if you see any, _please_ point them out to me! Sorry for all the time/scene skips! If they confused you let me know! Oh and the omake was gonna be WAAAAY better, 'cuz I had an AIM convo with an awesome person and she told me to make Arika and Mashiro have some HLS (or something close to it) but I ended up losing the convo. So I'm sorry, but you'll have to settle for the little bit I could think of. (credit for the idea goes to Dino)

Yes, if any of you were wondering/thinking it. This was in the SAME DAY as the previous chapter. Although it should've been obvious when Natsuki and Shizuru visited the cafe. (I hope you guys are happy that I put them in there!) And yes, I did change the dialogue a bit.

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it! Drop me a few lines to let me know how I'm doing! I mean 'cuz it'd be really nice to know if this story is still any good.

Peace, naomi


	6. Surprises and Partial Explanations

**A/N:** Whoot for another chapter! Oh, I have achieved my goal of 100 reviews so I am posting this chapter really early! The bad thing is it's kind of short (well shorter than previous chapter) and I'm leaving you on a major cliffy. So that's the downside.

Anyways, I would like to thank all of my reviewers, and I would like to sincerely apologize for not getting back to some (or most) of you. I really am grateful for the reviews, and not-as-slow update should prove it!

Thanks to**: ****midorihitomi****, ****hanazono****, ****LucidLucifer****, ****yurianimeotaku****, ****XxAzn HomiexX****, ****DreamShadower****, ****Kugerfan18****, ****elfspirit7****, ****ManiazAzn****, ****Mewraven****, ****pri815****, ****my heart is an icebox****, ****krugern****, ****Harley Quinn Davidson****, ****nolens, volens****, bigtomato, and Ryuu** for the reviews!

UPDATE: SMALL UNNOTICEABLE CHANGE TO THE END! (I just switched the Omakes and changed one thing, it's nothing big!)

* * *

Chapter Six: _Surprises and Partial Explanations_

Natsuki woke up the next morning with a splitting headache, "Ugh, where am I?"

'_Not my room.' _She looked around to see barely familiar surroundings and tried to think back on the previous nights events. _'I went to Nao's to tell her what happened… ah.' _

"Nao," the blunette said aloud and immediately noticed where she was: Nao's apartment—in her bedroom and on the bed to be exact. Not that they had done anything the night before… except have a few drinks and talk; but the redhead had left shortly after Natsuki told her a summary of the events—saying how she had to "meet _someone_ and that a certain mutt better be out of her apartment by eleven the next day."

'_Usually Nao doesn't care when I leave, I wonder why she does now.'_ Natsuki glanced at the clock anyway, it was 11:57, and she sighed. _'I might as well leave.'_

The biker grabbed her jacket and made her way out of the bedroom.

_Squeak. Thump. _

"What is that…?" Natsuki wondered aloud and went to find the source of the noise.

_Thump. Sploosh._

The sounds were getting louder… and they seemed to be coming out from the bathroom.

The blunette hesitantly reached for the doorknob and all the noise stopped. She grasped the handle wondering whether or not she should see what was going on.

Then all of a sudden, the sounds picked up again, and it sounded like a struggle, there was a groan and a loud _thump_. Natsuki hesitated no more, _'What if Nao is hurt?'_ she thought as she quickly opened the door.

"Nao!" she called out loudly.

"Ah!"

"Fuckin' dog, get _out!"_

Natsuki was frozen; the scene in front of her was _very_ overwhelming. Heat immediately rushed to her face and she tried to say something, _anything_, but she couldn't. All she could do was gape and blush.

Nao was in her bathtub, naked as the day she was born, with one arm around someone's waist—Natsuki assumed it was a female by the petite-ness of the figure's body—and the other arm seemingly on the wall, but disappearing behind the other person. The other (naked) figure had their legs wrapped around the Nao's waist and was clinging onto her back, almost as if her life depended on it. Natsuki couldn't really tell—because Nao's body was almost completely covering the other person—but it seemed like the person's dark hair, which was soaked and matted to their head, had a greenish tint to it.

'_Green,' _Natsuki's brain managed to process this bit of information and compare it to all the people she had seen with that certain hair color. All this, and the gaping, of course, had been taken up in a total of thirty-five seconds.

The information on the person with the vermillion hair had nearly shocked Natsuki completely out of her stupor, and she said the one name that came to her mind before everything went blank, "Tomoe?"

_Thump._

"Natsuki?" said woman called out the blunette's name.

"Nao?" the redhead joined in, saying her own name whilst rolling her eyes. "I told her to leave by eleven."

"You think we should…?" Tomoe looked down at the blunette passed out on the floor.

"Nah, just leave her here, she's fine." Nao gave a sly smirk and moved her arm a bit, making the other woman moan. "Let's finish this up in the room before she wakes up." She carefully stepped over the unconscious blunette and carried the green-haired receptionist to her bedroom.

--

Thirty (pleasing) minutes later, Nao walked out of her bedroom fully clothed with the green-haired receptionist in tow.

"Go check on Natsuki," Tomoe said, pushing the redhead towards the bathroom door.

"Why do I have to check on Kuga?" Nao turned around to look at her girlfriend, an eyebrow arched.

"Because it's your fault she passed out."

"Y'know it was your moaning that brought her in there. Oh, and should I mention the fact that it was _your_ name she said before she hit the ground?"

With the red that had accumulated on her cheeks, the green-haired woman seemed to be supporting Christmas. Tomoe huffed and walked towards the bathroom to check on the contest winner.

Nao's amused expression changed to a pout, "How does she know you anyway?"

The receptionist ignored the redhead and opened the door to see the blunette still on the ground. She walked into the bathroom and bent down to tap the girl awake, but was pulled back by a strong grip on her shoulder.

"Answer me," the serious tone and the slight anger in Nao's eyes let Tomoe know she wasn't joking.

"I met her a couple of days ago, it's nothing important," Tomoe shrugged, "It really wasn't a big deal."

"A couple of days ago, Tomoe?" Nao inquired, her tone holding a hint of anger.

"I met her at work; get off it already, Nao."

"She wouldn't even need to go to the radio station. Why would she go now?"

"Maybe she had some business with someone who worked there?" Tomoe smirked, she knew she was getting Nao riled up, but she didn't like the fact that the redhead didn't trust her. She leaned over, once again, to shake the third female awake.

"No, I'm not finished talking to you." Nao pulled Tomoe out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. "Why did she pass out after she said your name?" She shoved the receptionist into a leather recliner and plopped down harshly in a loveseat across from her.

Despite the shock at the rough treatment, Tomoe acted as if she didn't care and mumbled a passive, "I don't know."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" The redhead stood angrily and pointed an accusing finger at her lover, "Tell me what she means to you!"

Now the grey-eyed woman was truly surprised, she had never seen the younger woman get so angry—especially over something that seemed so trivial.

"She doesn't mean _anything_ to me, Nao!" Tomoe stood up and glared at the redhead, "You always get so mad when I see someone I know… you actually think that I would _cheat_ on you?" The receptionist spat out the words as if they were some kind of bile in her throat. The look in Nao's eyes confirmed her last statement; Tomoe nearly fell back at the realization. "Do you trust me so little?"

Nao's eyes softened and she reached out towards her girlfriend, "No, that's not it…"

"Then what is it? What do I even mean to you?" Tomoe flinched away from the touch and Nao inwardly winced.

"You… you mean…"

"See? You can't even say what _I_ mean to _you_! Do you know that you mean _everything_ to me? I bet you don't. You always accuse me of cheating on you! Well here's the reality check, Yuuki, I am a _receptionist!_ It's my _job_ to talk to people!"

"I know what you do, Tomoe, I'm not stupid! God, do you think I'm ignorant or something? I know what you do." She repeated her statement slowly, in anger because the older female had just talked down on her—almost as if she was a child.

"Just like I know what you do, Nao."

That statement clearly confused Nao, what did the conversation have to do her own job?

"You can't even see it, can you?" Tomoe shook her head, letting out a humorless laugh. "You don't even know what I think about what _you_ do, because I don't complain or make a big deal about it like you do. But I'm going to tell you this once: you are a DJ, and you were somehow able to get a job as a bartender; both of those jobs require socializing—and I know you're more than willing to 'converse' with whoever comes to talk with you.

"I don't mind that, but you're a natural flirt—that I have a problem with but I won't complain. Do you want to know why?" Without waiting for an answer, Tomoe continued, "Because I _trust_ you. Even when I saw Natsuki on your bed, my _trust_ in you said that you didn't cheat on me." She turned away and walked towards the apartment door.

Grasping the doorknob, Tomoe turned to look at a speechless Nao, "_Kuga-san_ was there because she won the date with Viola-sama… I told her where she needed to go and I gave her some advice. That's it." She opened the door to leave the apartment but was stopped when the redhead called her name.

"Tomoe…"

"I'm going to work," the green-haired woman answered the unasked question and paused, seemingly in thought, "Or do you not trust me?"

When Nao didn't answer, Tomoe continued on her way, shaking her head sadly as she closed the apartment door with a soft click.

Nao growled angrily and looked to find something to pour out her frustrations onto; she glanced at the bathroom door with a sardonic smirk.

_Splash._

"What the hell?!" the blunette cursed, wiping the cold water off of her face. She looked up to see an angry Nao. "Dammit, Yuuki, what the fuck was that for?!"

Nao only grinned evilly and poured more icy water onto the sitting female. "I told you to get the fuck out of my apartment by eleven; it's already almost one." She tipped over her bucket again, "So get out!"

"Ack! Bitch, see that's the last time I think about caring for you!" Natsuki stomped out of the bathroom, nearly slipping on the wet tiles. "Shut up." She growled at the redhead whose face was no longer holding a smirk, but a somber expression. "Huh? Nao…"

"Just go."

"But-"

"Go!" the redhead ordered.

Natsuki complied, gathering her things quickly and made to leave the apartment.

"Hey mutt," Natsuki quickly turned at the soft tone.

"Don't forget your… lunch." Nao tossed a bag towards Natsuki and walked into her bedroom.

"Thanks," Natsuki called out as the redhead closed the door. She looked inside the bag and saw her favorite sandwich: ham and cheese, generously lathered with mayonnaise. It made her grin; this was Nao's way of apologizing, especially since there would never be a way to hear the five letter word come from her mouth.

-xOx- **(A/N: parts of this will be one-sided phone convos.)**

_Riiiing. Riiiing._

"Hello?" … "Sure, that's fine, but what about-" … "Oh, she's busy?" … "Okay, so when do you want me to meet you there?" … "I'll see you in soon, bye."

"I'm going out, Shizuru. If you leave, make sure you call me… and don't stay out too late either!"

"Okay," Shizuru smiled at her cousin. "Have a safe trip."

"I will. See you later!"

Only when the door had closed, leaving Shizuru alone in the manor, could the brunette move from her position on the burgundy sofa. She let out the breath she was holding and picked up her cell phone.

"Joe?" … "I know, but do you think you can have her ready by Tuesday?" … "Yes, Monday would be even better, thank you so much!" … "All right then, call me when she's ready."

After she hung up, she reclined back on the suede loveseat and wondered what she would do for the rest of the day. Of course she wouldn't have to wait long…

The forecaster's phone began to vibrate and she answered the unknown number, "Hello?"

"Shizuru?" the voice on the other line questioned. "It's me, Natsuki."

"Ah, Natsuki," she smiled to herself, happy to hear the other woman's voice. The sun beamed brightly through the open window and Shizuru sat up to avoid the blinding light.

"Um, I was wondering…" the blunette began hesitantly, "If you would like to 'talk' over some coffee?"

"Well—"

"I mean if you aren't busy or anything!" the biker added hastily as she made her way toward her motorcycle. "Because if you're busy you don't even have to worry about it. You could just pretend like I never—"

"No, no," Shizuru interrupted the other woman's ramble, whilst shaking her head and smiling. "I'm not busy; I was just going to ask when," she admitted shyly.

"Oh, I'm not sure… now?"

Shizuru was a bit thrown off, "Now?" she questioned.

"Well yeah, you said you weren't busy…"

"I know, but usually one would call in advance to give the other person time to get ready."

Even though the other woman couldn't see her, Natsuki made an "oh" face, then scratched her cheek sheepishly; unsure of what to say next.

"But, it's okay," the brunette smiled, "You don't mind picking me up do you?"

"Yes…" Natsuki paused, "Wait, no." She stopped herself again with a sighed, "I never know if I'm supposed to say yes or no…" she laughed a bit, embarrassed, "But I'll come and pick you up."

Shizuru was trying not to laugh at the other female, and the faces she was making to keep that from happening would've made her laugh at herself—she looked ridiculous! Despite the slight break in her composure, her voice was calm when she said, "Thank you."

"Okay, I should be there in fifteen minutes," Natsuki replied revving the motorcycle's engine. "Better yet, make that ten."

"Oh… okay." The brunette was surprised at the tone of Natsuki's voice, she couldn't figure out what exactly it was, but if she could word it, it was a sort of determination. "Bye…?"

"Oh yeah," Natsuki's voice became embarrassed again, "Bye," she said with a grin and hung up to drive to the forecaster's house.

--

True to her word, Natsuki arrived at the large western manor some ten minutes later. She inwardly debated with herself on whether or not she should go to the door to knock, or if she should honk her horn and wait for the beautiful forecaster to come out. She nodded her head emphatically as she came to a compromise: she would honk her horn and get off of the bike to wait for the brunette.

Natsuki did her best "I'm so cool" pose as she leant on her black Ducati. Arms crossed in her black track jacket—which was over a white shirt that had a large heart, the color silver, on the corner of her left hip—she held the red helmet in one hand, while the other hand was free, sitting idly on her chest. She tried to keep her calm composure—and for the most part was successful—but her legs were shaking ever so slightly in her tight denim jeans, and her feet were crossed at the ankle, in her favorite white Etnies.

To the untrained eye, the biker looked to be the definition of rebellious, but to the calculating ruby gaze that was Shizuru Viola, it was obvious that the blunette was anxious. And as the brunette walked down the marble steps, the smothering gaze that was Shizuru Fujino could see the nervousness of the meeting to come.

The first thing that Natsuki saw was the piercing crimson of the other woman. She couldn't tell what exactly was different about them, but when she actually thought about it, she noticed that she could _see_ the woman's eyes. Even the night before, Shizuru had continued to wear the tinted glasses; the only time she had been without them was the… incident at the restaurant.

From far away Natsuki could see exactly what were in those blood-like orbs, she wished to describe them in words but all she could do was stare. Look into those eyes and indulge in them, almost as if they were the devil's candy.

Suddenly a weight was lifted from her hands and glasses were once again placed over eyes. Natsuki blushed after she realized that she had been staring at the woman for so long that she hadn't known Shizuru reached her side.

"Ookini, Natsuki," Shizuru said, smiling warmly.

Natsuki could feel the warm gaze from behind the dark lenses, not at all heated like the one she had felt before. She nodded as the forecaster put on the helmet she grabbed from her hands earlier.

"Are you ready to go?" Natsuki asked while she was climbing on the motorcycle and putting her own helmet on.

"Oh, I have to call my cousin; I need to tell her I'm going out." Shizuru replied, grabbing her cell phone out of the pocket of her jacket.

Natsuki looked the female over from behind the shaded lens of her helmet. _'Holister now?'_ Were her thoughts as she noticed the female to be wearing an outfit, completely by the Holister brand—her shoes were an exception though, with them being blue and white Adidas. The forecaster had a maroon-colored jacket—with the year Holister was established on the back—over a t-shirt that seemed to be of a similar color (she couldn't exactly tell since there was only a small portion of the collar peeking out over the zipper); and a pair of light blue vintage jeans.

She started her engine, so as to not have any thoughts about the woman behind her, and began to speed away.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru yelled over the wind.

"What?" the biker called back.

"I didn't get to call my cousin yet!"

"It'll be fine, you can call her later. Don't worry so much about it; I'm going to be right there with you." Natsuki said gently, well as gently as one could over the raging winds. She felt the forecaster's arms tighten around her waist, and she could hear it, almost as if Shizuru had said it aloud.

"Ookini."

-xOx-

The ride across the city wasn't long, but it wasn't exactly short either. It took about half an hour, and that was more due to Natsuki's speeding habits than the actual distance. The pair arrived at a familiar coffee shop—well familiar to the blunette anyway—just before the large bell on the clock tower, in the eastern side of Fuuka, struck three times to notify that the time had just turned to three o'clock.

Barely two minutes had passed by the time the two had actually gotten into the cozy café from the parking lot. Intent on getting some time with the local forecaster, Natsuki began to lead Shizuru to a booth along the wide windows of the shop. Of course luck was not on her side and a voice stopped her before she even moved five feet away from the door.

"Natsuki?" a voice asked from behind the blunette. "What a nice surprise; seeing you here again and all."

"Yeah, heh." The biker mumbled hesitantly as she tried to walk away from the person behind her.

"Where are you going, Natsuki?" the female asked, following the pair to the booth they had acquired.

"Um, just to sit down." The blunette let Shizuru into the booth first and sighed as the high school sweethearts sat across from them.

The dark-haired newcomer was nearly surprised to see the woman sitting next to Natsuki and was quick to introduce herself, "Why hello there, my name is Harada Chie. You can just call me Chie." She gave a dazzling smile and pulled out a blue rose—seemingly out of nowhere—to give to the blushing brunette.

Surprised by the gesture, Shizuru could barely mutter thanks. "Ah, um… thank you. I'm Shizuru—"

"Viola-Fujino," Natsuki jokingly cut in and was playfully glared at as the woman continued her introduction.

"Shizuru Viola, nice to meet you." She finished with a smile.

Another brunette appeared and sat across from the forecaster and gave a warm smile while she pulled her flirtatious girlfriend down beside her. "Senou Aoi. It's a pleasure."

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Aoi-chan, I'm sorry. You know I'm weak against beautiful brunettes!" As she whined she purposefully looked sensually into her lover's eyes.

The dress maker blushed and turned away. "Whatever."

Chie grinned, happy to have her girlfriend's forgiveness, and kissed Aoi's cheek gently. Shizuru blushed, unused to seeing the display, while Natsuki rolled her eyes, having seen much worse from the couple in front of them—and in public no less.

"So Natsuki," the dark-haired womanizer began, "Is this beautiful lady the one you're on a date with?" the words were said smoothly, reminding the blunette of the conversation they had a few days prior.

Natsuki began to sputter at the question, "It's not… she's not… I mean she is… but this is not…" She stopped to take a breath, "We aren't on a date." She sighed dejectedly.

"Mm," Chie nodded. "So tell us Viola-san, why is such a pretty woman like you doing a--Why are you out with Natsuki if you aren't on a date?"

"I can't take a friend out to have coffee?!" Natsuki interjected, her arms raised in the air. She wondered if the very idea be that preposterous. With the incredulous look everyone—including Shizuru—was giving her, she lowered her arms and crossed them on her chest, a pout evident on her face.

Chie looked back at the brunette sitting diagonal from her, "So as I was saying, is there a certain reason why?"

Shizuru laughed slightly and replied, "She broke the rules, so she wasn't allowed to ask for another 'date.' So we went out to 'talk' and 'have some coffee.'"

Aoi, having kept quiet since introductions, spoke up, "Oh I see. Is there a story behind this?" She asked, looking softly to the brunette across her and then accusingly at the blunette across her girlfriend.

"Actually there is…" Shizuru started and adjusted her sunglasses before telling the story of their date.

By the time the story was finished Natsuki was trying to explain herself: that she couldn't have known about the first two rules and that she wasn't exactly the one who broke the third rule.

Aoi kept quiet, but turned her head with a slight blush on her face. The same could not be said for her overly-inquisitive girlfriend.

Chie gasped and voiced her thoughts, "Are you telling me that you would not want to touch this beautiful woman?!" _Smack!_ "Ow, Aoi-chan," she pouted, "Let me finish what I have to say first…"

"Ch… Chie…" She looked like she was going to protest further, but instead she took a deep breath and allowed the other female to continue.

Taking the silence as an invitation, the former reporter continued her rant. "That is an insult!" She shook her head at the absurdity of it all. "Even if you are a prude, Natsuki!"

Said female began to stammer, trying to find the words to argue her case. "That's… No! That's not it! Shizuru, Shizuru is _very_ beautiful—almost too beautiful to touch! She is…" she furrowed her brows to think of a word most appropriate to describe the female beside her. She thought back to the day she first met her, the moment she first saw her, "Shizuru is like an angel," she nodded emphatically at her own good choice of words. "I can't just _touch her_, it'd have to be right! She deserves the best!"

As the blunette continued to ramble, Chie's grin continued to get larger. Both brunettes were different though, or would it be exactly the same. Anyways, the red adorning the brunettes' cheeks made them nearly mirror images of each other; reasons be damned. Chie took a sip of her frappucino (they had ordered drinks while Shizuru was telling the story) as Natsuki's rant came to a close.

"I wouldn't take advantage of her or touch her in some public establishment, that'd be terrible!"

The black-haired female began to choke suddenly. She leant forward a bit as she coughed and Aoi let out a deep moan. Chie sat up in surprise and tried to cover up the moan by kissing her girlfriend deeply. In one fluid motion, Chie was out of the booth with a panting brunette leaning heavily against her. Aoi unconsciously used the arm that wasn't holding onto Chie for support to smooth her wrinkled skirt. Chie noticing the movement grabbed the brunette's hand in her own and embarrassingly began to pull her towards the exit.

"Um… Aoi seems to be a bit sick, and I've got to take care of her. We'll see you later I hope." She said nodding towards Natsuki. "It was nice meeting you, Viola-san." She opened the door for her recovering girlfriend and looked back before she walked outside, "Good luck, Natsuki." She grinned playfully and guided Aoi to the parking lot.

Natsuki suddenly blushed and stood up, "Agh! They were doing _'that'_ here… again!" She heard shuffling to her left and realized the brunette that she had almost forgotten during the tirade. "Umm, I said _all_ of that stuff out loud, didn't I?"

Shizuru nodded; slightly embarrassed, but with a soft smile on her face, "Ookini though, Natsuki."

"For what?" the blunette asked sheepishly with slight confusion.

"For thinking I'm beautiful and that I deserve the best; even though I really don't." the forecaster replied solemnly.

"That's not true! You do, you deserve so much more than any _man_ can give you!"

Shizuru shook her head, "Yeah, you may think that until you find out that I'm part **oneesan.**"

Natsuki blinked. The other woman's mouth movement stopped at the same time, but she was sure her lips moved differently. _'What the hell?'_ she thought and asked Shizuru to repeat herself.

"**Oneesan.**"

Natsuki really began to wonder what was up—this time it didn't even sound like the brunette's voice. She silently cursed herself for being bad at reading lips. She tried one last time to hear figure out what was said, "Wha—"

"Shizuru, I thought it was you! I've been calling you, didn't you hear me?"

Shizuru turned towards the speaker in surprise. "Ah! I'm so sorry, I was speaking to Natsuki!" She looked towards the blunette next to her, apology clearly written on her face. As she gazed at the female in front of her she noticed her cousin holding up a phone. "Oh… I forgot to call you after I left." Shizuru held her own cell phone in her hand as she began to plead with her cousin, 

"Please forgive me, but I really wanted to go out with my friend. And I thought it would be okay if I just…" she drifted off, lowering her head in shame.

"Silly," Shizuru's cousin remarked; bringing a hand under the brunette's chin to lift her head, "You should know I just want you to be safe."

Shizuru gazed determinately into her cousin's jade orbs, "I do feel safe with her." She then smiled, happy to no longer feel troubled. "Hey, I thought you went out with a friend…" she lowered her tinted lenses to the tip of her nose to show a suggestively raised brow.

The other female shuffled and glanced at her toes. "Um, I did," she looked up to see Shizuru's suggestive look. "Ah, but she's just my friend!"

Shizuru placed her dark glasses onto the table top and watched the other woman squirm. "And just _who_ might that be, huh--"

"Ers-chan, I got your latte." Another voice sounded, walking towards the blonde.

"Nina?"

"Natsuki?"

"Erstin?"

"Shizuru?"

* * *

**Omake 1:** _And the Signal Is…_

Author: Okay, so remember -.:looks at Tomoe:.- You have to say "Now."

Tomoe: -.:nods:.-

Author: Everybody, get into positions!

Nao: -.:smirks:.- Ready? -.:runs hand down Tomoe's body:.-

Tomoe: -.:moans slightly:.- Nao, not before we start!

Nao: -.:sighs:.- C'mon, I know you want it… -.:blows into Tomoe's ear:.-

Tomoe: Ahn… Nn…

Author: -.:sighs:.- Action!

_Thump! Squeak!_

Tomoe: Mm… Oh… -.:bites lip:.-

Nao: Let it out… c'mon… -.:sucks Tomoe's neck:.-

Tomoe: -.:moans loudly:.-

_Thump. Sploosh._

-.:Door opens:.-

Tomoe: Nn… Now…

Nao: Mmm… say it. Say my name again…

Tomoe: N-no… Now… -.:moans:.-

Natsuki: -.:passes out:.-

Nao: -.:looks at Natsuki, who's on the ground:.- Oh, "_now"_…

Author: Dammit, Nao! That's the 15th take! When Natsuki wakes up… again, she's going to give the signal!

**--**

**Omake 2: **_Did you call me?_

Natsuki: Nina?

Erstin: Natsuki?

Shizuru: Erstin?

Nina: Shizuru?

Reito: -.:walks into café:.- Tate?

Tate: -.:appears out of nowhere:.- Reito?

Aoi: -.:walks back into café:.- Chie?

Chie: -.:appears:.- Aoi?

Mikoto: -.:sits down next to Natsuki:.- Mai?

Mai: -.:appears and sits across from Mikoto:.-

-Ten minutes later-

Erstin: I don't understand… I know it was only supposed to be the four of us. -.:sits down on the ground outside the crowded café:.-

Nina: I know… -.:sits down next to Erstin:.-

Shizuru: -.:calmly sips tea and watches as more people appear in the café:.-

Midori: -.:bursts into the coffee shop:.- MIDORI!

Youko: -.:follows Midori:.- Youko! -.:smiles and tries to get through the crowd:.-

Natsuki: What? They're calling out their own names now! That's not right!

Sifr: -.:grins:.- Sifr Fran!

Lena: Rena Yumemia -.:smiles:.-

Natsuki: Oh no. No, no, no! You guys aren't even from our… whatever it is! Go bother someone else! -.:pushes them through a vortex:.-

Author: I really didn't know this would happen… but I think I just found out the real reason for Nina and Arika's mothers disappearances.

* * *

**A/N:** I would just like to say that the idea of Nina meeting Viola was a helpful idea from the great **-Trinity- of April beauty. **Who probably didn't even know I was going to think about using the idea when she sent me the review for the second chapter. So thank you Trinity!

Okay... that was the sixth chapter! I hope you enjoyed it! OMFG! I FORGOT AN OMAKE!! I must make one quickly! -clicks on doc. editor- I have a feeling that you won't really like them either. (Especially you Tomoe/Nao haters)

Well, I hoped you liked the chapter! Please review, and if I made any mistakes, please point them out!

-naomi


	7. Into the Past and Present

**A/N:** Wow, finally another chapter! I'm so sorry it took so long... trying to make this long and semi-decent took some time. Um, I would have to say that this is the WORST chapter I've written by far, especially the parts near the end. Seriously, ugh. The beginning is pretty good (there are probably errors here and there, but so what), but about halfway through or so, it gets so AWFUL!

**Warning!** Awful writing, bad grammar, MAJOR OoCness, and a BAD omake

**Thank You SO VERY MUCH you wonderful readers, alerters, stalkers, reviewers, favers, and all of you that are mixed(?)! I really appreciate it for sticking through this with me... It's been great! **

**So I was going to update this SUNDAY because that's the day of my birth... that sounded lame. That's my birthday. Anyways, I decided not to and instead gave you guys something early! SEPTEMBER 21 WOOT!!**

* * *

Chapter Seven: _Into the Past and Present_

Natsuki looked away from the brunette as she heard the voice. "Nina?"

Erstin looked towards the eldest of the two blunettes hesitantly, "Natsuki?"

"Erstin?" Shizuru questioned, confused that her own cousin knew the biker.

"Shizuru?" Nina just about exclaimed at the sound of the brunette's voice.

Shizuru looked at Natsuki, having thought that she had called her name due to the similarity of the voices, but Natsuki was looking in another direction so she followed her gaze.

"Nina-han!" Shizuru climbed over Natsuki and jumped up from the booth to run towards the smaller blue-haired girl. "I haven't seen you in _such _a long time!" She grabbed the younger girl's hands and pulled her forward into a hug.

This of course did not go unnoticed by the two other females and looks of jealousy passed over their faces for a short moment.

"C'mon, sit, sit." The forecaster led coffee shop owner to the booth she was previously at and motioned for her to sit. Reclaiming her seat next to the emerald eyed female, she waited patiently for both of the younger females to sit down.

"Ah, so what is it you are doing here, Nina-han?" Shizuru asked, smiling warmly at the smaller blunette.

"Well, I sort of own this coffee shop." Nina scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "It was one of the things I inherited from my father."

"What?" Natsuki looked up quickly as her cousin spoke. She wondered how and when her favorite uncle died. "When did this happen, Nina?"

Nina looked up confusedly, "You were there, Natsuki. It was the same time your parents… died—don't you remember?"

"Not at all! What happened?" Natsuki sat up straight, looking only at her cousin and forgetting that there was anybody else in the booth with them to hear their conversation.

Nina was hesitant and looked at the other two occupants of the booth for a silent confirmation. She trusted the two females, but needed to know if they would be okay with hearing the deaths of her family. At their nod, she matched her older cousin's intense stare and she started her tale.

**.:-(FLASHBACK)-:.**

Behind a very large laboratory, right in front of a deep forest was a sandbox; in this sandbox sat a six-year-old Nina and her four-year-old cousin, Alyssa. They were playing peacefully in the sand until a noise disturbed them.

"Nina-chan!" a small voice called out from the direction of the forest and Nina stood defensively in front of her cousin.

"Who said that?" she asked the voice.

"It's me, Natsuki! Help me, I found someone and she looks hurt."

Nina gave a sigh in relief and turned toward the other girl in the sandbox. "Stay here, okay Alyssa-chan?"

"Kay-kay, Nina-chan." The blonde child nodded at her cousin. "Me no leave. Me stay."

"Good girl," Nina smiled and ruffled the younger girl's short hair before running into the forest to help her older cousin. "Nat-chan! Nat-chan!" her high voice called out in the loudest tone her tiny body would allow. "Where are you?"

"I'm here, Nina-chan!" the small voice sounded from Nina's right. "Hurry… I can't hold on much longer!"

Nina ran and ran; she ran at a speed that one wouldn't think possible for such a small child. She pushed through bushes, jumped over roots, and weaved between trees to reach her distressed cousin. "Na… Nat-chan." She panted out when she caught sight of familiar blue tresses. "I'm here… what's… wrong," she spoke slowly, taking a breath after each word.

"Nina-chan! This girl… this girl, she looks hurt!" Natsuki said, concerned. She was trying to lug the slightly larger body up the slope she was on. "I need help." She gave her cousin a pleading expression and waited a moment for the orange-eyed girl to catch her breath.

"Okay," Nina sighed, and walked closer to her cousin, finally seeing what the female in Natsuki's arms looked like. "Sh-sh-sh…" Nina stuttered. "She's Mari-chan's daugher! What happened to her?"

Natsuki moved over so Nina could grab an arm to pull the girl up, and talked as they dragged the girl up the rest of the hill.

"I-I dunno… I was playing with Duran and-and I think I fell down the hill; all I know is I saw her at the bottom… and she wasn't moving."

"Okay, what we gonna do now though?"

"We gots ta take her to mama; she'll know what to do!"

Natsuki and Nina took turns carrying the wounded female on their backs through the forest. It took some time but eventually they made it out.

"Tsuki!" Alyssa squealed when she saw her sister appearing from the woods. "Tsuki come pway!"

"Sorry, 'Lyssa, we gots ta help this girl first. I'll be back soon though!" Natsuki smiled apologetically and continued to carry the girl on her back toward the large research facility her parents worked at.

Alyssa crossed her arms and pouted. "Tsuki never have time for me."

"I'm really sorry," she paused to look at her younger sister. "Oh, I know, how about I find Yu-chan?"

Alyssa beamed. "Yu-chan, Yu-chan, Yu-chan!"

"Okay, I'll go get her!" she grinned at Alyssa before looking at Nina and taking off toward the building. "C'mon, Nina-chan!"

"Natsuki!" the younger blunette called out, running swiftly after her older cousin.

--

"Yu-chan!" the pair called out. They walked down a corridor of the facility to find the female. "Yu-cha--AHH!" the blunettes screamed, and Natsuki almost dropped the girl she was carrying when the silver-haired female appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"We have to leave." Miyu said to Nina and Natsuki; not at all fazed by the loud screaming that had echoed throughout the halls.

After calming themselves, Natsuki asks why.

"A strong electric discharge corrupted the Hyperion Integrated Mass Equalizer, I assume." Miyu was met with blank stares. "This place will explode in less than twenty minutes."

"Oh, haha, Miyu-chan. Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Natsuki laughed, Nina laughed, Miyu didn't move.

"WHAT? Esplode?!" both blunettes exclaimed; finally realizing he silver-haired girl was serious.

Natsuki looked at Nina then at Miyu and gasped, "Yu-chan, you have to get 'Lyssa for me! I can't get her while I'm carrying… her." Natsuki motioned with her head to the girl on her back.

Miyu's eyes flashed with concern, and she gazed past the blunettes' heads and out of the glass double-doors some feet away. She nodded once, saying, "I'm on it, Natsuki-sama," as she stepped briskly toward the exit.

"Just Natsuki!" the older of the two blunettes called out at the disappearing form of the silver-haired protector. If Miyu heard her, she didn't respond.

"Geez," Natsuki sighed with a shake of her head, "C'mon, Nina-chan." She looked to the left, then to the right, but the younger girl wasn't there. "Nina?"

"Hurry, Nat-chan!"

"Eh? How'd you get there so fast, Nina?" Natsuki looked at the end of the hall to see Nina standing there.

"Mou," Nina mumbled to herself; rubbing her forehead with her palm. "Don't worry 'bout that right now, we have to find oba-chan or otou-sama!"

_Shake shake shake._

Natsuki braced herself along the wall of the corridor as the ground shook. "Nina-chan, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, now c'mon!" Nina yelled, heading out a door that led to the parking lot of the facility.

Natsuki tried to follow but a door burst open beside her and man ran out, screaming, "He's gone mad. _Mad!_" After noticing her standing there, he said, "You need to leave! It's gonna blow!" and sprinted down the hall and through the exit.

Natsuki's expression was one of surprise, but nonetheless looked through the open doorway.

--

Nina ran to the parking lot and followed the path her father had shown her to their car. She got into the unlocked vehicle and waited a few minutes before the blonde male showed up.

"Otou-sama!" Nina cried out when she saw her father.

"Nina-chan," Sergey smiled warmly as he got into the driver's seat. "I'm so glad you're safe." He hugged is only daughter tightly before starting the black BMW. He began to put the car in reverse when his daughter's voice stopped him.

"Wait otou-sama! We can't leave yet; nat-chan is going to be coming with mari-chan's daughter… she looked hurt."

Sergey looked around and nodded. "Okay, but they have to get here soon."

Nina smiled in thanks, and the father and daughter waited for his niece to reach the car with his co-worker's child.

"Otou-sama… what's that?" Nina asked; pointing to the sky after a few minutes of waiting.

"Sh—" the blonde started, reaching over to pull his daughter close to him, the rest of his curse being drowned out by a large object crashing into the facility. A white flash filled their eyesight for a moment before everything went eerily silent.

"The maiden's star…" a voice muttered from beside the vehicle.

Sergey turned his head; uncovering Nina's eyes to look outside. Natsuki and a blue-haired woman holding a child stood next to the BMW he and Nina were sitting in. His eyes widened and he called out the woman's name before saying, "We gotta go!" His words seemed to snap the woman from whatever reverie she had been in, making the woman quickly assess where she was and motion for Natsuki to get into the car so she could seat Mari's daughter beside her.

After being settled, the woman softly said, "Let's go."

Sergey nodded.

They drove as far from the research facility as they could, but as they drove down the road of a large cliff, the same blinding white light appeared again. This made Sergey lose control of the steering wheel as a loud explosion came from the laboratories. He swerved in the lanes and hit a guard rail on the opposite side of the road, breaking right through and off the cliff toward the ocean below

Screams resounded through the car, each parent trying to protect the children. The windshield cracked and the car jerked at the nearly solid impact of the water.

& blackout&

"…na… Nina-chan…"

The blunette coughed softly as she began to awake. She looked up in a daze, opening her eyes slowly due to the sudden loss of consciousness. Her sight was immediately filled with her father, dripping with water and bearing a bleeding cut in the middle of his forehead.

"O-otou-sa…ma…" she said weakly.

Tears fell from his eyes while he looked down at his daughter. "Thank… thank goodness you're alive… thank goodness you're safe," he muttered tiredly, and he rolled over to the side, collapsing on the wet sand beside his daughter. "Thank goodness," he said a final time; a smile graced his lips and he closed his eyes in an eternal slumber.

"Otou-sama?" Nina turned her head to the side, feeling the large hand holding her own go limp with an object pressed between them. "Otou-sama," she muttered again after receiving no answer. _'He must be tired,'_ she thought, for with his eyes closed, Sergey seemed to be peacefully sleeping.

She slowly untangled her hand from his to look at the gleaming metal that had emerged from in between them. It was her father's watch. She opened it up and inside was a picture from her previous birthday. It showed Sergey giving her a big hug while they were both smiling brightly at the camera.

On the bottom of the picture was a caption that said, "My family, My love, My life."

**.:-(END FLASHBACK)-:.**

By the time Nina finished telling her story she had tears falling from her eyes—which she desperately tried to hide.

"I didn't have enough energy to get up after that. Some people came and picked me up later, though." She felt so pathetic for crying, but she couldn't help it. Despite it feeling good to get it off her chest, the memories hurt terribly. "I… I don't know what happened to you or mari-chan's daughter after the crash… I… I'm sorry." She rubbed her eyes with her right hand and grasped at a chain around her neck with her left.

"So that's how it happened… I- I still don't remember that or anything that happened that day." Natsuki looked down solemnly. "I'm sorry, Nina." It bothered the older blunette that she couldn't remember the past.

'_Now that I think about it, I can barely remember anything from when I was younger.'_

"It's not your fault."

Natsuki looked up and was met with a warm smile she had once been familiar with as a child. "Thank you… Nina-_chan._"

The conversation died off after that moment. The silence wasn't awkward, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. No one spoke for they knew not what to say.

_Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt Bzzt._

Shizuru looked at the group apologetically and answered her cell phone. It was unsaid, but the distraction was very much welcomed.

"Hello? … Ara? … Okay … No, no, it's fine. … Mm, bye."

"Kanin na," Shizuru said after getting off of her phone; looking at the other three females in the booth with her. "I have to go to work…"

Nina raised a brow in confusion, Erstin merely smiled, while Natsuki pouted softly. She thought the expression was inward, but it seemed to have crept up onto her face.

Shizuru addressed each woman separately. To Nina, "I do the daily forecasts for H.I.M.E," then a small smile. To her cousin, "I'll see you later then, Erstin. I hope you have a great time _hanging out_ with Nina-han." She winked at the blonde before turning to the blunette she was sitting next to. "I'm sorry that we couldn't continue our… talk. It was nice while it lasted though," she sheepishly looked away from the piercing emerald orbs before continuing, "So I suppose I'll be seeing you later…?"

"Uh, um… y-yeah." Natsuki muttered. She was slightly confused at the quick change, but didn't let it put her down. "Shizuru, you don't have a ride do you?" The brunette shook her head. "I guess you'll have to stick with me for a bit then." Natsuki grinned widely.

Shizuru smiled softly, eyes glimmering happily. "I guess so."

"Well then," Natsuki started, glancing at the two women in front of her. "We should get going…" Thinking that she had been to forward, she paused to look at the forecaster, saying, "We should get going, right?"

Shizuru covered her mouth to stifle the giggles that nearly erupted from seeing the cute actions from the blunette just then. "Of course. We have to leave now if I am to be on time with the daily forecast."

"Right," Natsuki nodded in understanding. She knew that she counted on the Viola report each day, just like many other listeners to the station, and would be disappointed if she couldn't hear what the next day's weather was to be like. "Let's go. I'll see you later, Nina, Erstin." She nodded at each female before walking briskly toward the exit.

"Ara, she seems to be determined to get me there on time." Shizuru chuckled, smiling at her cousin and Nina as she made her leave.

"Shizuru, come _on_ there're people that are counting on you!" Natsuki rolled her eyes from the doorway of the café.

"Kanin na, Natsuki-_chan_." Shizuru teased when she met up with the now-impatient blunette.

Natsuki stopped tapping her foot against the ground and walked behind Shizuru. She began to push the brunette towards her motorcycle in an effort to get them going faster. "I'll accept your apology once we get to the station! Hurry!"

"O-kay…" Shizuru laughed and allowed herself to be pushed toward the Ducati.

--

"So you know onee-san, huh?" Erstin pouted.

"Ah, well, I met her years ago. We used to play together as children." Nina frowned at the sad look Erstin had on her face and hastily continued. "But she was always out trying to play with Natsuki."

Erstin smiled softly. "I see. So what happened?"

"I don't really remember." Nina looked up in thought. "We played at the facility a lot—she helped us take care of Alyssa—but then… I don't know… she was just gone."

"And she came back like nothing happened…" Erstin whispered. "When did this happen, Nina-chan?" the blonde asked, her voice holding a sense of seriousness.

"When she disappeared… or when she came back?"

"Both."

"Um, around thirteen or so years ago… I think—for when she disappeared." She furrowed her brows and paused in thought once more. "When she came back… it was five, no six years ago? I'm not exactly sure."

"Same time that…" Erstin trailed off.

"What's that?"

"Nothing, Nina-chan. Now what were we talking about before they got here? …That's right!" Erstin clapped, her smile turning into a devious grin. "You were about to tell me about your sudden interest in collecting lingerie."

"Um… no I wasn't?" Nina said; trying to hide the hobby she had recently acquired from her similarly haired cousin. "I distinctly remember that you were about to tell me that you wanted to see a movie." She nodded, pleased by her skills.

Erstin gaped, but her lips soon rose into a smile. She tried not to laugh at the way her friend got out of her situation. "Really now? I don't remember that…"

"You don't?" Nina gasped exaggeratedly before rising from her seat with a grin. "I guess I'll just have to ask you then. So you wanna go, or what?" Nina asked nonchalantly.

'_Hook…'_

Erstin raised an eyebrow. "Sure…?"

'_Line…'_

The blunette offered her arm to the sitting blonde to help her out of her seat. "Great. It's a date." _'And sinker…' _Nina thought the last part of the phrase and smirked when Erstin nearly tripped as she heard the words.

-xOx-

Natsuki and Shizuru made it to the station with only minutes to spare. It was now 5:55 pm and there were only five minutes left until Shizuru started the forecast. The pair was walking toward the H.I.M.E station at a fast pace and bypassed the large sliding doors of the lobby to continue on to the side of the building.

"Huh?" Natsuki muttered, confused.

"This way can get me to my office faster." Shizuru stated, once again realizing that Natsuki was walking with her. "I need you to go back around to the front and tell Tomoe-han that I said 'Thirty-seven. Number Zero Nine Five Three Four.'"

"Er… okay." Natsuki nodded and noticed that the brunette had taken off the designer shades that covered her eyes. "Shizuru?"

Their eyes met and Shizuru spoke. "Ara, did you call me, Natsuki?" Her words came out in a slight husky tone that made the younger woman's eyes widen. Shizuru chuckled. "Relax, Natsuki. I'm just getting into character."

Natsuki was about to ask what Shizuru meant but was waved off. The brunette said something about her needing Natsuki to give Tomoe the message before heading into a door that the blunette hadn't notice earlier.

"Okay." Natsuki said aloud to herself. "Thirty-nine. Number Three Four Seven Five Zero." She nodded and headed off to tell the green-haired receptionist the message.

--

"WHAT?!" Tomoe exclaimed. "You can't be serious!"

Natsuki nodded. "She told me to tell you that right before she went into the secret door on the side of the building."

Natsuki caught the brief mutterings of what sounding like a "Not a secret anymore," before the receptionist spoke loud enough for her to hear, "C'mon, we have to tell _her_ about this." She groaned, rolling her eyes.

--

"WHAT?! You can't be serious!"

"That's what she said… I mean you know… 'cuz she, er, you did…" Natsuki closed her mouth at the look Tomoe was giving her.

Tomoe scoffed. "Anyways, this girl here says that Viola-sama told her to tell me that."

"But you can't be _serious_. I mean when she said it first… I thought it was a joke! She even _said_ she was _joking_!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Then why would she tell her to tell us that? It's not like Kuga here knows any codes."

"True."

Natsuki stood, watching the exchange with a raised brow. They were making a big deal out of a bunch of numbers. "Geez, you guys are overreacting. It's just numbers."

"They aren't just _numbers_!" the blonde screeched. "It's a _code!"_

"And?" Natsuki rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Well… this code… this code is umm… _different_." The busty blonde stopped screaming and her voice became small. "Whatever the case may be, I do NOT agree with this. That bubuzuke woman thinks she can tell us what to do…" She pulled out a phone and punched in some numbers angrily.

After a short time she spoke again, "Thirty-nine. Number Three Four Seven Five Zero. …Yes, I know. Just do it and get down here, Takeda!"

"Haruka…" Tomoe started hesitantly. "You aren't actually gonna go along with this, are you?"

"Do I have a voice?"

"Yes, a loud one…" Natsuki mumbled.

"What?!"

"Choice," a voice seemingly out of nowhere said.

"That's what I said, Yukino!" the blonde called out. "Yukino! Did you get the code—what Viola is telling us to do?"

"Ah… um… well… I did… but I… umm…" The systems manager stuttered.

"C'mon Kikukawa, say it." Tomoe sighed.

"Well… I'm on it… but you guys are going to have to start now."

"Fine." Tomoe and Haruka growled out angrily.

The radio station workers walked through a door on the other side of the room they were in, and Tomoe motioned for Natsuki to follow.

When they entered the room, there were people getting stripping and dropping their clothes carelessly onto the ground. The room had no divisions and the males and females were undressing in front of each other. The females looked embarrassed but made no movement to hide their nearly naked bodies; the men on the other hand were practically ripping off their own clothes, leaving them only in their undergarments like the ladies, so they could watch the women remove their clothing.

"W-what is going on h-here?!" Natsuki gaped. She turned to the two women who led her into the room only to find that they too were stripping. "What are you doing?"

"Code Thirty-Nine. Number Three Four Seven Five Zero." A voice began from behind her. "All clothes—excluding those used to cover unmentionables—must be removed for the rest of the day while one is in the facility."

Natsuki turned her head slowly to see a smugly grinning DJ T.K slowly take off his large jacket and baggy pants. "No." she shook her head. "I'm leaving."

Takada continued to speak. "One is not allowed to leave the facility until he or she has completed at least ninety minutes of the code's requirements."

"What?" Natsuki paled.

"It's true." A mousy brunette said, modestly covering up her chest with her arms. Natsuki recognized it to be the voice of the woman who was speaking to Haruka in the other room.

"What kind of rule is that?" Natsuki seethed.

"Well Viola-san made it on her second year here. You see, each of us was able to make one rule for the station as long as it didn't discriminate between age, sex, or gender. No one thought she was serious though--"

"Because that damned bubuzuke woman made it on April Fool's Day." Haruka interrupted, grumbling.

"So start stripping!" a male said from the far side of the room.

"Yeah, take it OFF!" another voice chimed in.

"Strip. Strip. Strip." Natsuki blushed at the chanting coming from around the room.

"Just do it, Kuga." Tomoe huffed. She walked over to the hesitating blunette and pulled off her shirt in mere seconds. "I'm not taking of your pants, but the faster you get them off… the quicker your time starts so you can get them back on."

"T-t-Tomoe! What are you doing?!"

"I'm obviously trying to help." The green-haired woman grumbled.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking 'bout!" a man screamed.

"Off with her pants! Off with them!!" came another voice.

Bodies began to approach the nearly topless blunette and Natsuki screamed.

"Ahhh! Stay away! Code blue… code red… wh-what are you… ACK!" _Slap_ "Don't touch me!" Natsuki ran out of the room; hands were grabbing at her limbs as she escaped. "Shizuru, HELP!"

The blunette wandered throughout multiple corridors trying to find a way out… or at least to find a certain brown-haired forecaster. She ran into a room a room and it immediately stopped her in her tracks. She held her arm over her face to shield her eyes. _'So… bright…'_

The place Natsuki entered had been the whitest, and the cleanest, room she had ever seen. Anything that was not white was a gleaming silver. _'I can't see…'_

"So you've found my office, eh?" a deep voice sounded from behind.

Natsuki started and slowly turned around to see DJ T.K clad in only a pair of white boxers and a white hat—which was, yet again, defying the laws of gravity to stay atop his head.

"T.K," Natsuki growled.

"Clean, huh?" he said, ignoring the angry tone of the blunette. "They say my cleanliness rivals godliness."

**(A/N: **_**Please**_** take no offense to the next line! It is meant to be a joke.)**

"What retard of a god do 'they' worship? Your office is completely empty!" Natsuki retorted, uncovering her eyes to look about the room.

"But it's clean, right?" Takeda raised an eyebrow, trying to be smooth.

"You only have a metal chair and a microphone in here with _nothing_ else!"

The head DJ of the station walked up to said microphone and chair and rubbed his fingers against it, causing it to squeak. "Squeaky clean," he said, nodding his head and crossing his arms as he sat down.

'_What the hell is his problem?!' _Natsuki huffed. "Can you just tell me how to get out of here?"

"Why don't you come over and sit on my lap? I may not be Santa, but I'm sure I can give you what you—" _Plop._

Natsuki rolled her eyes and rubbed her fist. _'Dumbass.'_ She walked out of the room and looked down the hall. "Left of right?" she mumbled to herself.

"Left." Came a computerized reply.

The blunette looked around confusedly.

"Left," the voice said again. And before she could ask where it would take her, the automated voice spoke. "Continue left twelve meters."

Natsuki shrugged and followed the voice.

_Ding._ "Make a right and follow the path three meters until you reach the stairway."

_Ding. _"Continue down the stairs and head east."

'_East? Is that left… or right?'_ Natsuki thought when she reached the bottom. She shrugged and turned left.

_Ding. _"Recalculating."

"What the hell?" Natsuki turned around and started heading the other way.

_Ding._ "Continue walking four… Recalculating."

Natsuki turned back and started walking the direction she was headed before.

_Ding. _"Walk seven meters… Recalculating."

"Oh my God!" Natsuki stopped all movement. She was further than she had been earlier and it was taking a while for the computer to lock on to her location.

_Ding. _"Make a U-turn."

She tilted her head slightly to the side and furrowed her brows. _'U-turn? Screw it!!'_ She threw up her hands in frustration and ignored the computer's 'Recalculating,' to walk through a door in front of her.

"… rest of the day. But I'd keep your umbrellas—"

"Shizuru?" Natsuki frowned; obviously confused for the umpteenth time that day, what with how she ended up entering the forecaster's recording room. "How did I get… I was… down… now up?" She was looking at the ceiling, then to the ground, and motioning with her hands to somehow describe the absurdity of it all.

"Ara, Natsu… ki…" The brunette turned from her microphone to look at her… friend. Of course this look was more like a stare and the live recording of the forecast was being ignored to continue said stare.

Sometime when Natsuki was trying to escape the wandering hands of the half naked people, someone had gotten a hold of the button on her pants, causing them to… become unbuttoned, which in turn caused them to become loose enough to slide part way off her waist to show fancy lingerie and some creamy skin on her thigh. Of course she wasn't wearing her shirt either, which made her wonderful body be shown around a small barrier of a lacy black bra.

"Finally I found you, Shizuru! I've been looking all over the place… and there was this weird GPS thing. Anyways, that code you gave me was wrong!" Natsuki watched as an eyebrow was slowly raised on the brunette's face. "Yeah it was wrong! People started stripping and Tomoe ripped off my shirt! I mean she was trying to help… but then the guys got into it and started grabbing… it was awful! TK was trying to be Santa… I have no clue what is going on here!" Natsuki finished her rant, taking a deep breath.

"Well, I don't know what's going on, but I think I'm likin' it." Shizuru smirked. She was eying Natsuki's body freely now, up and down from head to toe. She never lingered in one place for too long, not because she was scared to be caught—she obviously wasn't—but because there was just so much sight to take in.

Shizuru licked her lips. "What were you saying about a code, Na-tsu-ki?"

"Well, that code you told me to say… um, 'Code Thirty-Nine. Number Three Four Seven Five Zero.'"

Shizuru laughed. "I don't know how you did it, but _you_ said the wrong code! I mean, I don't mind with what I'm seeing, but I was trying to tell you to get Tomoe to give you a quick tour of the station. Somehow you mixed up the numbers in just the wrong," she paused to eye Natsuki once again, "Or should I say _right_ order."

"Sh-sh-shizuru!" Natsuki exclaimed, a blush tinting her cheeks.

The forecaster walked up to the blunette, a sultry gaze in her eyes and a slight swagger of her hips. "Ara, Natsuki," she breathed into the younger woman's ear. "Call me 'Viola' while I'm working." She finished off with a soft nip to the girl's lobe before stepping back to admire her work.

Natsuki's breaths seemed to be coming out of her mouth in short and quick puffs; and she had her eyes half closed. The slight pink on her cheeks was now a deep red. "Viola," she panted, in a daze.

Viola, who had been smirking just moments prior, was having an extremely tough time keeping herself off of the woman in front of her. She couldn't help thinking that Natsuki was looking painfully erotic, even while it was not her intention. Soon the feeling became too much and she closed her eyes, leaning in, "Natsuki…"

"Shizuru…" Natsuki mumbled, tilting her head up. Her half open eyes were looking at Shizuru's opened red ones. _'Wait, her eyes are closed… and they aren't that shade of red. "On Air…?"' _"Viola!" she stopped herself right before their lips met, and she could feel the warmth of them even though they weren't touching.

"Y-you're on the air." The forecaster didn't seem to get it. "The show… the report… the forecast." Natsuki said, trying to keep her words short because she could feel the slight brush of her lips against Shizuru's with every movement she made.

Shizuru turned her head to look at a sign, "Hm, you seem to be right." She shrugged as if there weren't hundreds or thousands of people who were listening to the events live. "My mistake." She smiled cutely and walked back to the 360 degree microphone that could pick up sounds from up to ten feet away from it in any direction and magnify the sound as if it were six inches away from you.

"B-baka!"

Shizuru smiled with a wink and continued her forecast. "As I was saying before a _very beautiful_ topless woman walked in… You should hold on to your umbrellas for the rest of the day because as clear as it seems to be now, the clouds will come rolling in, bringing in light showers for the rest of the night." She chuckled to herself as she saw Natsuki looking around for the source of her weather knowledge. She sang the conclusion of her forecast, "Thank you, and I'll see you tomorrow; same time, same station on 102.3 H.I.M.E."

Viola pressed a button on the expansive control board in front of her, causing the bright red, "On Air" to fade into darkness. She swiveled in her chair to face Natsuki completely, "So I'm not on the air anymore." She grinned, puckering her lips teasingly.

"V-Viola!" Natsuki sputtered.

"Uh-uh," Viola said, waving her finger from side to side. "I told you to call me 'Viola' while I was working; I think I'm off now."

The blunette blushed and turned her back on the brunette. "Shizuru," she muttered with a pout.

"That's right," said female whispered into Natsuki's ear.

Natsuki squealed and jumped forward, spinning around to face the brunette. "Sh-shizuru…"

"As I was saying, Natsuki," Shizuru started, backing the blunette up against the door behind her, "Where were we?"

And with those three words she captured Natsuki's lips in a soft, sweet kiss.

* * *

**Omake:**

Author: Hell yeah! Code Thirty- **-mumbles digits-** Zero!!

Tomoe: What the hell did you make that code for?

Author: -**is stripping-** Uunts-uunts… Huh? I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't make the code, Shizuru did! –**points at Shizuru-**

Natsuki: Dun dun DUNNN!

Shizuru: Ara? I do recall saying it was an 'April Fool's Joke'

Haruka: Damn woman! How are we supposed to know when you're lying or not?!

Author: E-Gasp! She didn't mess up!

Natsuki: You're right!

Shizuru: -**drinks tea-**

Haruka: I'm not stupid you know. Have you ever thought that I _choose_ to mess up when I speak so that I'm not so overly superior to you fools? Have you ever thought that I try not to flaunt my genius because I am a kind person? Have you ever thought that—

Shizuru: Yukino-han, you can put the signs away now. Suzurshiro-han has made it quite clear that she knows how to read.

Author and Natsuki look around. Both: I don't see anyone…

Shizuru: -**points up-**

A large screen with words can be seen.

Natsuki: You can't do it like that… it's not right!

Shizuru: I recall someone saying that to Takeda the other day…

Natsuki: -**raises eyebrow-**

Tomoe: -**sighs-** She made a 'That's what she said' joke

Everyone: Ohh!

Tomoe: Hopeless…

Shizuru: She said that too!

Author: … -**walks away-**

Haruka: … -**walks away-**

Yukino: … -**walks away-**

Tomoe: -**shakes head and walks away-**

Natsuki: So um… How come you never stripped? Isn't that part of the code?

Shizuru: Ara, so you want me to strip? –**begins to take off clothes-**

**A/N:** Okay, so I didn't mean for it to sound like the story was ending in my "Thanks" part at the beginning... because this is SO NOT over! Um, yeah, this was terrible, but I needed to get it out since this update was WAY overdue.

Sorry for the many problems: the bad jokes, the horrible writing, the awful omake and the holes in this chapter, but some were intentional (as in dark spots of the plot, not the awfulness of the chapter). Oh! Did anyone get the GPS joke? I mean, I don't know if it's just MY GPS that does that whole "recalculating" thing, but it's hella funny!

Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review this crap!

-naomi

* * *


	8. Try and Forget

**Disclaimer:** I do not claim any of the Mai series or their characters. Nor do I claim the "language" at the end.

**A/N:** Wow! This is a kind of quick update (considering the fact that I almost never update same story twice in a row)! And to fix that, I promise to not update Forecast unless I've updated another story! (Mwuahahaha!)

I'm pretty happy about this chapter... at least with how it turned out. I actually think it's bad... but it's okay... 'cuz it's decent!

**Thank you to all my readers, reviewers, stalkers, favers, and mixers of the formers! I'm sorry if I never got back to your reviews, but they were much appreciated!**

**Big thanks to: dsaANON, beezerstation, Nao Yuuki, Ian.23, colorfulsunrise514, elfspirit7, chum-sa, Pileoflettuce, Anonymous, lollerpoop, silverice90, Little-Demon-Inside, lolanimegirl, tears of the soul, Harley Quinn Davidson, yui1808, krugern, midorihitomi, ManiazAzn, reviewerskye, Sora-Hikari, EleCoR, Tear Maker, Daf.crazy.otaku. **

**WARNINGS:** Lameness, (overly)OoCness, OCs, Cursing, Innuendo, Some Bad Grammar!

I dedicate this chapter to beezerstation! You may not know how much you helped me this chapter, but you did!!

* * *

Forecast

Chapter Eight: _Try and Forget It_

It had been nearly a week and a half since Natsuki awkwardly left the radio station. But it had only been a few minutes since she last thought of the kiss she shared with the forecaster.

'_It's not as if we're going out or anything.' _She mentally berated herself. _'It wasn't even a date.'_

She sighed and continued trying to convince her mind that the short lip-lock was meaningless. That maybe Viola was a bit—well more than a bit—affectionate. Hell, she had affectionate friends, some more so than others. After all, Mikoto had a thing for being overly friendly, especially to Mai; but that last aspect didn't help her much since the onyx-haired girl was now dating said carrot headed chef.

She scoffed loudly. _'What was that then… a kiss between friends?'_ Natsuki thought sarcastically with a shake of her head, as if trying to clear her thoughts.

"I need a drink…" she paused, remembering something suddenly. "Damn, I'm underage." She paused once more. "Nao," the redhead's name was said with a wicked grin, and Natsuki went downstairs to retrieve her keys and jacket.

Donning her helmet and mounting her bike, she could only think that a certain lonely bartender would be more than willing to find her some form of alcohol.

-xOx-

"Sorry to disturb you, but _he's_ here to see you," said a slender male with dark-brown hair, blue eyes, and delicate features as he walked into his superior's office.

"What do you mean _he's_ here to see me? Tell him I said no… he lost that chance years ago."

"Ah, but, he says it's urgent." The secretary replied softly, trying to find some way to convince his superior to meet with the man.

"And again, I say no."

The small male walked away slowly, apologizing to the man behind the door of the office.

The woman could faintly hear the conversation of her secretary and the man through the wooden door; her secretary speaking softly and trying to remain calm despite the other man's rudeness.

"Marquis, I have to see her!" the male's deep voice just about yelled.

The woman began to get out of her seat when Marquis—her very much male secretary, despite his feminine appearance and soft voice—spoke once more: "I am sorry, sir,but she is very busy and does not want any distractions at the-"

"Distractions?" the man interrupted.

"Yes, you would be considered a distraction since there is no direct link between you and her work."

The woman, having left her desk to hear the conversation better, leant back against the cool surface of the door; her head was back and she stared into the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling. She was unconsciously holding her breath in anxiety.

The man sighed. "Fine, just tell her that I said to be careful." There was a pause and a shuffle of furniture as if someone was getting out of a seat. "She knows what these few weeks are, and it will not do her good to overlook it."

"I'll make sure I let her know, Mr—"

The man interrupted Marquis with a soft knock to her office door. "I know you're listening. I want you to know that I care… I am your fath—"

"I have no father." The woman whispered back harshly.

The man chuckled and replied in an equally quiet voice. "True as that may be, I'm as close as to the real thing that you'll ever get." The man sighed; the gruff tone of his voice was lost, making him sound extremely tired. "I'm serious. Be careful, Shizuru."

"Mr. Fujino?" Marquis asked hesitantly.

"Ah, Marquis, I almost forgot you were here." The gruff tone was back and Mr. Fujino let out a laugh. "Do not worry, I am calm now. Please forgive my earlier rudeness." There was an awkward sounding noise of affirmation from Marquis. "I shall take my leave… no need to show me the door, I know my way out."

The faint closing of a door and the lack of muffled voices allowed the part-time forecaster to relax.

_Knock knock._

"Mnh?" Shizuru grunted, rubbing her temple with one hand.

"Are you all right?" the secretary asked; his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine, I just feel a bit tired is all."

"I'm sorry I let him up here… I should've listened to what you told me about him, but this time it seemed really important."

"No, actually I'd like to thank you." Shizuru could tell that she had Marquis confused. She continued, "This was important… I had forgotten all about it until he showed up today." She gazed at the calendar to the right of her.

"Forgot what?"

"These two weeks… they are very important to me. Actually no, not _to_ me, but for me… they are important _for_ me."

Marquis nodded his head from behind the door and dropped the subject; it was obvious that Shizuru no longer wanted to talk about it. He sat down and continued to do his work.

"Marquis-han?" Shizuru called out.

"Yes, Ms. Fujino?"

"Do you remember how you said you'd do anything for me?"

The tanned male sighed. "You want black, oolong, or green?" He asked, reaching for the phone, ready to order his superior's tea.

"You know, I haven't had chai in a while…" she hinted, opening the door to her office to look at the brunet.

Marquis looked at the woman and rolled his blue eyes playfully, "Chai it is," he smiled and placed an order to the kitchen that was floors below.

-xOx-

"I seriously have to go with you if I want to get _one sip _of—"

"For the last fuckin' time, yes!" Nao growled, rubbing her temple furiously. "The answer was the same the past twenty-seven times, it's not going to change if you ask another one… or five times!"

"Geez, you could've just said yes."

"I said yes all those other times you asked! Damn mutt." Nao sighed. "Look, I'm younger than you so I'm not even allowed to _bring_ alcohol into my apartment. That was Tomoe's jo– never mind, what I'm telling you is I can get you alcohol at work."

Natsuki nodded. She noticed how Nao evaded the subject of the green-haired woman, but decided not to pursue the topic. It didn't seem right, especially since Nao hadn't asked her anything about the green-haired woman's coworker; she thought it would be decent enough to do the same.

"So tell me again why you're making me change?"

Nao made an 'Are you serious?' face before letting out a mocking laugh. She walked over to her closet and picked out an outfit for her friend. After picking out some suitable clothes, she walked towards the door of her room, throwing the articles of clothing at the blunette as she went.

She stopped on the way out and gave the older female a once over. She smirked sarcastically before finally replying, "You actually think I'd let you go somewhere with me dressed like that?" With those words being said, she walked out the room, her laughter echoing off the walls.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I dress…" Natsuki grumbled, but nonetheless changed into the outfit the redhead chose for her.

Gone were her casual sweats and tank top. Now she wore a skirt that reached mid-thigh, a tube top that showed a bit of her midriff, and a jacket that seemed to be too small to actually be a jacket. She looked herself over in the mirror, _'She can't be serious…'_

"Nao," Natsuki growled, "I am not wearing this!"

The redhead gave a low whistle, "But Natsuki, you are." She smirked and applied the last bits of makeup to her face.

"Dammit Yuuki, find me something else."

Nao looked at her watch and sighed overdramatically, "Oh darn, no time." She grabbed her keys and marched triumphantly to her door. When she grabbed the handle, she called back. "Think of it this way: you can get alcohol in your system without care, or you can stay sober and think about your problems."

"Do you think you could be a little more obvious? My head is spinning from trying to figure out the hidden message you were giving." Natsuki deadpanned, following the other girl out the door.

--

"Marquis, I asked you to take me home," Shizuru sighed.

"We are home! Besides, my girlfriend wanted to go the club, so we're going," the brown-haired secretary replied, a little too excitedly.

"Can you say whipped?" Shizuru mumbled.

Marquis jerked his head to the side quickly. "What was that? Did I hear someone saying they wanted to walk fifteen miles back home?"

Shizuru raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Did I hear someone saying that they no longer wanted a job?"

"Touché," Marquis bowed mockingly, "You have won yet again, Ms. Fujino."

"Well, you're getting pretty good at this," the business CEO laughed.

"That's what she said!" said a voice from behind the pair, before two slim arms wrapped themselves around the effeminate male. "Hey, babe."

"Hey, Jo." Marquis turned to give his girlfriend a soft kiss. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

Joanna is a hazel-eyed, natural strawberry-blonde—without the jokes that came with the name. She was currently dressed like a punk rocker with skinny jeans, vans slip ons, and a band tee. Her shoulder length hair was parted to one side and half-hidden underneath a classic black beanie. One might think that with her carefree disposition came rash decisions and immaturity, but she was actually the opposite—calculated, smart, and smooth.

"Down boy." Joanna held the male at arm's length. "It's only been a couple of days."

"But that's such a _long_ time!" Marquis whined.

"You know, she's more of a man than you." Shizuru grinned. "I bet she gives you a run for your money."

Joanna laughed, "That I do." Marquis blushed, and she continued. "Thanks again for helping set me up with the show, Shiz." She leapt into the other woman's arms for a hug and allowed herself to be spun around.

"No problem, your _man_ here, helps me out more than you know, Jo-han." She smirked at the enraged look on Marquis's face. He always became angry when someone made fun of his masculinity.

Jo giggled; her strawberry-blonde hair moving as she shook her head from side to side. She quickly stifled her laughter when she caught glimpse of her boyfriend's glare. "I'm sorry, babe, but you know how funny it is when you get like that." She finished off her apology with a quick peck to his cheek.

Marquis didn't reply; he was still pretending to be mad. He stuck his nose in the air and grabbed Joanna's beanie off of her head to place it on his own, before stalking off into the crowded club.

"Aw, babe! You know I was joking!" Joanna chased after him, stopping when she was about to enter the club to look back at the brown-haired woman. "C'mon, Shiz! If you leave now Marquis'll get mad at me… well madd_er_ anyway." She motioned frantically with her hand for Shizuru to follow and ran into the club.

"Ara…" Shizuru said as she stepped into the building of blaring music.

--

"This isn't where you work." Natsuki stated, looking at the large building in front of her.

"I'm a bartender and a DJ. I don't stay in one place if I get a call somewhere." Nao rolled her eyes. While it was true she normally worked in one place, she had been called out to different club by her boss when another DJ could not make it.

"Well are you sure this is the right place?" Natsuki was hesitant on entering the club. "I mean will they let a minor in there?"

"Tsk, tsk, Natsuki. Do you really think I don't come prepared?" The redhead grinned, holding up two cards with pictures on them. "I got a friend of mine to get me these. She's a real whiz so it looks legit." Nao said, handing Natsuki a fake I.D.

"Nice." Natsuki grabbed the card and headed into the back entrance with Nao.

They had gotten in without any problems, and it was only a few minutes until Nao could go to work. To Natsuki this meant that it was only a few minutes until she could get a drink.

"Oh Natsuki, I kind of forgot to tell you," Nao started off slowly. "I'm a DJ tonight so I'm not actually serving any drinks…"

"Are you serious?"

"Well, you're a big girl. Show off your stuff and get some horny guy to buy you one."

Natsuki threw her hands up in anger. "You can't tell me you expect me to get some guy to just buy me a drink! What am I supposed to do? Stick out my hip, lick my lips and set one leg on a bar stool like in the movies?" Natsuki asked incredulously; she was unconsciously doing all of the things she was saying. "Because that doesn't wor--"

"I couldn't help but notice that you were alone." A man spoke smoothly into her ear, effectively stopping the conversation between the two females.

Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Would you like a drink?"

Natsuki's eyes widened in surprise and she looked towards the chuckling redhead behind her. _'So it does work…'_ "Why yes, I would like a drink."

The man began to call out a drink for her but was waved off.

"Hey, bartender!" she called the man over. "Get me a Bud Light Lime. This guy's payin'." She jutted her thumb toward the male as she picked up her beer, and headed away. She couldn't trust that the man to not try and drug her alcohol somehow.

"See, that was easy, right?" Nao smirked.

"I guess, but I'm going to need a lot more than one horny guy to get enough drinks to get buzzed."

Nao nodded. Despite not being an avid drinker, Natsuki could handle her alcohol quite well, and it often took her multiple drinks to get some sort of effect from them.

"Just make sure that you don't run this place dry."

Natsuki scoffed, "I won't drink _that_ much. I do need to get home looking somewhat sober."

"Of course, because if your mommy finds out you've been drinking then she'll ground you and take away your little bike," Nao said condescendingly. Her smirk growing wider as Natsuki's eyebrow twitched in anger.

"She is not my mom! I'm not afraid of her… besides, she can't take away what's mine." Natsuki crossed over her chest.

"Oh yeah? You say that now, but I remember two years ago when you snuck out to that party with me and she made you clean the house for a week!" Nao laughed. "Oh and remember my senior year…?" Natsuki's eyes widened. "That's right; I know your bike wasn't in the shop—"

"Yes it was! I was adding some parts and changing the eng—"

"Don't even try it." Nao shook her head. "I saw your precious Ducati in the garage under lock and chain! Mai took away your keys and put them in a safety deposit box until she thought you learned your lesson."

Natsuki pouted. Mai had told her she wouldn't tell anyone about her being a 'bad girl' as long as she did what was asked, and boy did she do what was asked. The community had never seen such a change in attitude overnight.

"Whatever," the blunette finally replied.

She turned her head in search for another unsuspecting male to buy her a drink. _'There…'_ she thought, spotting a short brunet wearing a beanie. _'He looks like an easy target.'_

Natsuki winked at Nao, and sauntered over to where the guy was sitting, making sure to add an extra sway to her hips with every step she took.

The male was good looking, unlike the first guy that tried to hit on her—good looking in a way that was closer to pretty than handsome. He looked up with widened eyes as she made a move to sit on the armrest of the small chair.

"Hey there," Natsuki said sweetly. "I noticed you sitting alone and I decided to come over."

"Ah, um, well… I'm not actually alone." The brunet stammered.

"I am sitting with you, so I guess you're not." Natsuki smiled, inwardly rolling her eyes at how coy the male was being. "So what's your name?"

"M-marquis…" he stammered. "But I really mean th-that I'm not alone."

"I see. Well, since you're not alone, and I'm not alone… why don't we—who are not alone—get something to drink?"

"I'm not sure…" Marquis said, looking down at his hands.

"C'mon just one drink… as friends?" Natsuki feigned hopefulness, and raised an eyebrow, nodding at the bar.

The feminine male finally conceded. "Fine, just one… as friends!" He grinned boyishly and led the mentally victorious Natsuki to the bar.

Both were unnoticing of the burning hazel eyes following their every move.

--

"I'm gonna kill the bitch!" Joanna muttered darkly when her ginger-haired friend reached her side.

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at the other female, and followed her heated stare in hope of finding what prompted her uncharacteristic curse. She looked to several people, all whom seemed to be an unlikely cause, and was about to give up when she glimpsed a familiar set of blue and brown tresses.

"Natsuki?" she unknowingly said aloud.

"Is that the bitch's name?" Joanna questioned, pulling a metal nail filer out her bag. She seemed to be delving into her native roots with the way she was holding the impromptu weapon—sharpened end near her forearm, like an expert handling a blade ready to be used.

Shizuru nodded, not knowing what the angered blonde was about to do.

"Okay. I'll make sure I carve that on her tombstone," Joanna said in a sickeningly sweet tone; stalking off in the direction of the bar.

The overly casual way the strawberry-blonde said the phrase caught Shizuru's attention, and she looked at the female who was walking away. She saw a glint of metal in the flashing lights and quickly followed the angered blonde.

--

It was her fourth glass and only his second.

"… And then she said, 'A wore?' It was so hilarious!" Marquis swished around his half-filled glass. "You don't even know!"

"No… no I don't." Natsuki smiled in amusement. The male seemed to get out of his shell when he was drunk, and as long as he kept the drinks coming, she had no problem with his company. He wasn't hitting on her, and he was really drinking with her like a friend would; he was definitely a plus in her books.

"Hey, I never got your name…" Marquis suddenly said.

The blunette had forgotten about that. She looked to the card in her hand and quickly replied, "Natsuki… Kruger."

"I'm glad we got these drinks, Ms. Kruger. It's always nice to let loose every once and a while. No hiding behind lies, just a few drinks to relax and be real…" He smiled genuinely and Natsuki had to look away. Suddenly he started to fall back and Natsuki lunged forward to catch him before he got hurt.

"Hey, you gotta be careful."

"Haha, I know. I've never been able to hold alcohol well… Jo always gets on me when she has to drag me home."

"Who's Jo?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"That'd be me."

Natsuki turned to see the owner of the voice and was immediately met with a fist to the side of her face. She stumbled back and slowly turned her head to glare at the angry female.

"What the hell is your problem?" Natsuki growled, spitting out a bit of blood that had accumulated in her mouth onto the ground.

"My problem is with the bitch who was trying to steal my man!" Joanna held the nail filer out in front of her in a ready position as she looked the blunette up and down—as if trying to determine how much strength emerald-eyed beauty would have.

Natsuki cracked her knuckles and rotated her shoulder a couple of times. "For your information, I wasn't trying to 'steal your man.' I was simply having a drink with a friend." She nodded at Marquis who hesitantly smiled back.

"She's right, Jo, we were only talking…"

"Bullshit." The blonde spat and lifted the thin blade a little higher.

Natsuki took a step towards Jo, not flinching even slightly at the threat of the other woman. "Look, I just came here to get a few drinks and forget." She stopped to take a breath. "I came to relax, not to cause more problems to myself by taking some femme boy away from his crazy ass girlfriend."

Joanna's face contorted and Natsuki flinched. _'Yeah,'_ Natsuki thought, _'Probably could've done without the insults.'_

"Fucking bitch!" Jo started to charge forward and Natsuki raised her arms, readying herself for the attack.

"Ara, I think that is enough, don't you?"

Both females stopped what was to be a very interesting catfight at the sweet voice.

Jo turned and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, whoops. I think I overreacted a little."

"'Overreacted a _little?'_" Natsuki growled and took a deep breath to calm herself before facing the speaker. "Oh, shit!"

"Is that all I am to you, Natsuki, shit?" Shizuru placed the back of her hand against her forehead. She sighed overdramatically. "Well, I must be, to have been ignored for two weeks…"

Marquis gasped. "She ignored you for two weeks?!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the blunette. "I thought you were a good person!" He pretended to weep alongside his superior; occasionally whispering words to console her.

Shizuru sniffed. "I'll be all right. Thank you for actually caring." She said, wiping a fake tear away from her eye.

Natsuki looked at Joanna and Joanna looked at Natsuki. Both were confused, but the blonde seemed more used to the behavior, and walked toward Marquis and Shizuru to smack them softly on the back of their heads.

"You guys are making it look more and more real each time." She shook her head with a smile.

Shizuru gasped and grabbed at her chest. "You think this is an act?"

"No, I know it's an act." Jo crossed her arms, rolling her eyes; she wouldn't put up with the nonsense.

"Okay, babe, you got us!" Marquis grinned. "We make a great team!" he put his arm around Shizuru's shoulder, and Natsuki visibly tensed from a few feet away.

Joanna noticed and looked to see if Shizuru or Marquis noticed. She made eye contact with Marquis and they communicated with their eyes to show that they had each seen it. They both looked toward Shizuru who smiled and nodded at the bar. The brunet and his girlfriend each raised a brow; it was weird for the intuitive CEO to not notice something so obvious.

Natsuki inwardly grimaced. She came with Nao to the club to get her mind off of the brown-haired forecaster, and ended up being reminded of the fact that she had been avoiding her. She sighed and sat down next to the brunette, placing her head on the cool surface of the counter.

Marquis ordered a round from the bartender. After everyone had finished their glass, he took a sip of his own and fell off his stool instantaneously.

"Oh no," Jo sighed, "Not again." She glared softly at Natsuki. "I can't believe you let him drink that much." She leant down to pick up the small body of her boyfriend and maneuvered him so that he was nestled on her back. She smiled ruefully at the other females and bid them goodbye. "I'll see you later, Shiz. And Natsuki, we got off to a bad start… I hope me trying to ki—attack you won't get in the way of a potential friendship."

Natsuki laughed and waved off the apology. "S'okay, it did look like I was tryin' to 'take your man.'"

"Great! I'll hopefully see you guys later!" she grinned.

"Have a good night, Jo-han!"

Natsuki and Shizuru watched Jo disappear behind a sea of bodies before finally speaking.

"Natsuki, it has been a while."

"Mm, and just when I was trying to forget you." Natsuki mumbled the last bit to herself. She turned to the forecaster and noticed that her eyes weren't shielded by dark lenses. "Which one are you?"

The brunette raised an elegant brow questioningly.

"Viola or Fujino?"

Shizuru laughed, "Well, I am currently Fujino Shizuru. Does that bother you?"

"No, but what do you mean by currently?"

"Ah, that is not a conversation for this particular area. Perhaps after a change of scenery?"

"Fine," Natsuki grumbled, and stumbled off her stool slightly.

She was caught in a warm grip by the forecaster and she leant against her for support.

"Ara…" Shizuru trailed off. She looked at the girl in her hold and inwardly berated herself. She had allowed Natsuki to drink even though she wasn't legal enough to do so. "You seem drunk," she commented dryly.

"No, not even close."

Shizuru looked down at the other woman questioningly; she wondered if Natsuki was being sarcastic or telling the truth. "Well even if that is true, I'm not letting you drive home in your condition."

Natsuki struggled in Shizuru's grip. She was trying to pretend that she didn't feel anything for the forecaster, after all, she was the reason she went drinking in the first place.

Eventually she relented and allowed Shizuru to lead her out of the stuffy club and into the cool night air. She looked around and laughed. "Do you have another plan to get me home?"

Shizuru's eyes flashed quickly at the question and smirked. She leant down to whisper into Natsuki's ear, "Why take you home when there's a hotel across the street."

Natsuki's eyes widened and she began to sputter, "W-what? N-no… I-I meant that you have no car… or I assume you have no c-car…" she trailed off lamely.

"Ara," The brunette licked her lips. "You would rather do something in a car? My, Natsuki, you are quite daring." She smirked saucily.

"Sh-Shi-Shizuru!"

"Thank goodness," Shizuru sighed happily; her eyes still glazed slightly with lust.

"Huh?" Natsuki made a cute face of confusion.

"Well, it's just that the first time you saw me you called me 'shit,' so I was hoping that you'd be able to say my name correctly this time."

Natsuki gaped. Her eyebrows began to furrow and her expression changed to something akin to a dam that was about to burst. After a few seconds of holding back, she let out a series of guffaws. Natsuki tried to calm herself down but the serious expression on Shizuru's face only made her laugh harder.

"Ikezu."

Natsuki wiped a lone tear from her eyes, and finally relaxed; she was no longer feeling the earlier tension from the kiss weeks earlier. She smiled genuinely at the older woman. "You know… it's been pretty different not seeing you for a while."

Shizuru smiled back. It was the closest thing to an 'I missed you' as she would get from the younger girl. "I could say the same… but I won't because I watch you from your window every night."

Natsuki blushed and sputtered. She was glad that Shizuru understood and tried to make light of the situation, _'But does she always have to joke with a serious expression on her face?!'_

Natsuki turned and stalked off in another direction.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru called out to the blunette's retreating form.

"What?" Natsuki grumbled without turning around.

"The hotel's the other way."

"Right." Natsuki nodded; turning and walking across the street, into the large luxurious looking building. It wasn't until she was in the lobby and nearing the counter that she realized she was tricked.

"Single room, one bed, please," Shizuru gave a fake smile to the man behind the counter, leaning forward slightly to show a bit of cleavage beneath her thin white blouse.

The man nodded, surely shaking _both_ of his heads in thought of two beautiful women sharing a room _and_ a bed. He typed furiously into a computer and hurriedly produced a key to one of the most extravagant suites in the building.

Shizuru winked at the man and handed him her credit card to pay for the room. He processed the information quickly and made sure to mention, 'that if they needed anything—_anything_ _at all_—to give the front desk a call, and ask for Simon.'

Natsuki gaped at the interaction. She continued to imitate a fish as Shizuru led her into one of the elevators and into the room.

"Ara, ara, we seem to be really lucky to have gotten the Honeymoon suite."

"One bed… H-h-honeymoon suite?!" Natsuki exclaimed, finally able to speak. "SHIZURU!"

"That's great, Natsuki," Shizuru purred from behind the blunette. She wrapped her arms around Natsuki's slim waist and blew against the girl's neck. She watched how the area promptly turned a deep shade of red before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Practice saying my name so you'll get it perfect later…"

The mixture of alcohol along with the immediate rising of blood to her head caused Natsuki to lose consciousness. Her body became limp and she collapsed into the forecaster's arms.

"Ikezu," Shizuru mumbled; gently holding Natsuki in her arms. "Falling asleep before I got my turn… and after all that I went through to get this room."

The brunette sighed and deftly carried the younger woman to the bed, lightly setting her under the covers and removing her shoes, once she was there.

After getting the blunette settled, Shizuru grabbed her cell phone and called her cousin to let her know where she was—having the entire police department searching for her whereabouts would not be good.

She looked over to Natsuki to check if she was still asleep, and finding that she was, took a small circular device out of her purse. She pressed a few invisible buttons on the seemingly high-tech compact and waited a few moments for an image to appear.

"Bnehlacc Viola," the holographic image bowed. "Ed ec y bmaycina du caa oui."

"Yht E oui, Garet." Shizuru nodded her head at the miniature transparent figure. "Ahuikr bmaycyhdneac, E ryja paah dumt dryd draca dfu faagc yna esbundyhd..."

"Oac, oui yna jano lunnald, bnehlacc," the figure nodded. A bright light flashed throughout the room, consuming Shizuru, and causing all talking to cease.

* * *

**Omake:**

Shizuru: **-picks up compact and presses buttons-**

Natsuki: **-wakes up-**

Shizuru: Blah blah blah blah

Natsuki: **-raises eyebrow-**

Unknown person (Garet): Blah blah blah

**-Lights flash and Shizuru disappears-**

Natsuki: The hell?! **–jumps out of bed and looks around-** blah blah blah…? (trying to imitate the language)

-**nothing-**

Natsuki: Blaaah BLAAAAAAAH!!

-**nothing-**

Natsuki: BLAAAAAAAAAHHH BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!

-**nothing-**

Natsuki: Oh come on! Where'd you go Shizuru? –**taps chin-**

Natsuki: Viola!

Viola: -**appears in mage outfit-**

Natsuki: I knew it!

Viola: What can I do for you, my Natsuki?

Natsuki: Um… I need a hangover remedy!

Viola: -**nods and begins to chant-** _By the powers of the moon, stars, and sky… make the alcohol in Natsuki's system go from… slim to_ –**begins to sneeze-**_na-ha-high!_

Natsuki: N-no! Sssshizzurru… -**passes out-**

Viola: Why?! -**shakes wand-** Why must you always make me mess up?!

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I am so not original in my language-maker-upper skills. So I'm sure some of you FF fans may know it (HINT HINT!). I apologize to you all if the chapter seems rushed or "holey". But I DO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING! So just hold your horses, 'kay?

Sorry for the bad omakes these past few chapters... it's been kind of hard to think of some. I hope you guys can hold on for the ride, and sorry for making Natsuki so... idk this chapter... and for the lack of "ShizNat" too.

Please review! They give me hope!!

-naomi

(I'll try and get back at a few of you who've reviewed last chapter if the reviews seemed like they need some explanation.)


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